


Space-Time Continuum Bandits

by EllOnWheels



Series: The Hilarious Crackhouse of Frightenstein [2]
Category: Marvel (Comics), Marvel 616, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, X-Men - All Media Types
Genre: Abigail Brand's personality might be genetic, Alternate Universe - Crack, Clint Barton - dog lover, Companionable Snark, Crack, Crack Treated Seriously, Everyone's a princess sometimes, Gen, Hank McCoy Needs a Hug, Hank McCoy is so fucking done right now, Now with actual Hank McCoy, Reed Richards doesn't give a fuck, Snarky Jarvis, Snarky Tony Stark, Steve Rogers is Not a Virgin, Swearing, Thor Is Not Stupid, Thor Is a Good Bro, Tony Stark also doesn't give a fuck but he's nicer about it, Tony Stark is Atticus Finch, Tony-centric, competitive dick jokes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-03
Updated: 2015-10-12
Packaged: 2018-03-10 08:13:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 57,798
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3283259
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EllOnWheels/pseuds/EllOnWheels
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sort of A/U Earth 616 where Hank McCoy has decided to take a long walk off into the deep end, is playing around in space and time, and Tony Stark is so not cool with that. Not cool to the point where he even agrees with Reed Richards that something needs to be done about it. So he decides to beat Hank at his own game. Too bad he ends up actually giving a shit and making a new friend out it. Swearing, lolz, and hi-jinx ensue.</p><p>Honestly, this has ended up probably one of the funniest things I've ever written. So I'm serious about the lolz bit.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. If I Ever Leave This World Alive

**Author's Note:**

> I don't write original characters usually, but this idea wouldn't leave me alone. AvX vol 1 issue 4 left me with the head!canon that Abigail Brand was pregnant, probably by Hank McCoy. Nothing ever came of it in canon though, and then as usual, my head went strange places.
> 
> Please don't try to place this in actual current Earth 616. It will reference a lot of it, but some of the characterization will come from the movies as well. Just... sit back and enjoy it.
> 
> Title is a reference to the Terry Gilliam film, Time Bandits... Which my former crackpot dentist (now retired) who believed global warming wasn't real, and that Obama was a sleeper cell terrorist got me to watch. While so very wrong about other things, he was right about that movie.
> 
> No copyright infringement intended here. No profit being made. All our continuity are belong to Marvel. All creative rearranging of it is my fault. I take responsibility, but I make no apologies... Think of this as working with character archetypes, with continuity snippets thrown in.

"Reed, I just want to state here, that I am still totally against this. It is beyond extreme."

"I know it is. I know you don't want me to do this. But I've done as much research as possible. Very soon in that timeline, she vanishes. Either she dies, or she was meant to come here... She was never meant to be THERE in the first place." Reed Richards was making careful adjustments to his equipment in order to find the precise time and place he needed.

"Still, I can't imagine she's going to like us very much for ripping her away from her life. You said time works differently there. She's an adult with a life of her own."

"Sue, you are going to hate me for this for awhile, but frankly, I don't care. She's one person in her world. Here she could make the difference in our entire timeline surviving McCoy's leap off into the deep end." Reed said, and didn't bother looking up from his work.

"Sue, he's right." Tony Stark said, though it looked like it physically pained him to say so. Tony was here to make sure that Reed had consistent power levels to pull off what he was aiming for. "McCoy has had access to alien tech for years now, and with the all the infighting the X-Men have gone through, it gives him few reasons lately to use it for anything other than his personal interests."

"And you think this girl is going to make all the difference? What if she doesn't care? What if she just wants to go home? What if we damage her in the process of getting her here?" Sue asked. Her shoulders were square, and her hands were at her side in relaxed fists. She was determined that the plan made absolute sense before she would let them carry it out.

Tony however, was tired of McCoy's angling in the space-time continuum, and they had enough messes to deal with because of him. "Sue, Hank needs his mind to be brought back to Earth. He's already gotten away with too much. Just because we seem to be bouncing along just fine here, doesn't mean he's hasn't already irrevocably screwed up other time lines. Also, he and Brand thought they could get away with their kid not having to suffer here like the rest of us. I understand the need for a parent to protect their child at all costs, but why is their kid special? Why does she get a free ride?"

"She has nothing to do with this, Stark." Sue replied. "She probably doesn't even know we, and this world, exist."

"All the more reason for Hank to start giving a shit again." Tony said and shrugged his shoulders. "I'm good to go here, Reed. Where are you at?"

"So you're going to take your frustration with Hank out on her." Sue said, refusing to let the issue drop.

"Just... About... There. We can start at any time." Reed said.

"As distasteful as this is to say twice, Reed's right, Sue. If she vanishes in her own timeline, she may die soon there. And that would be far too young, even with time advancing more quickly there. In a way, we're saving her... And we're trying to save Hank too. He was an Avenger for a long time. It was nice to have someone around who spoke science. We didn't spend a lot of time together, but when we did, I liked him a lot. I liked that he was fearless of my intellect and his own. I liked that unlike every other damn mutant on the planet at the time, he didn't wallow in self-pity about his appearance, that he learned to enjoy his mutation... In fact he probably scored more often than I did in those days... The shit that him and Simon used to get into, I swear... So. Much. Weed. I would find their discarded roaches in with the coffee grounds most mornings..." Tony said and trailed off, smiling.

"Anyway, Hank deserves better than he's had to deal with recently. He needs to learn to hold himself to a higher standard again. Which sucks and is unfair for anybody. But his mind, with his knowledge of alien tech and biology could help humanity so much. I don't want to lose that. It's too valuable. He cured the Legacy Virus. What else does he have in that brain of his that could help save the world? I also don't want to see him go nuts and start killing the redheads or something."

Sue tilted her head at Tony, who was looking at her with idealistic charm. "I just think we're pushing our luck. How did she even get from here to an alternate dimension?"

"Abigail somehow sent the kid off while still in utero... I have no idea how that's even possible, but clearly Hank probably did." Tony said. "I found out about it when I was poking around in the S.W.O.R.D. database to gather up info on Hank. I really have no idea how they did it... I don't know what got them to that point, to send their own kid away like Clark Kent, but it was extreme enough that they did it. And the timeline they sent her to is much more stable than ours according to Reed's observations."

"Do we know her name?" Sue asked.

"Do you know how hard it is to get birth records from a society that wasn't widely computerized when she was born through a dimensional portal?" Tony asked.

"Probably better than you do, Stark. I also know much like Reed, you're nothing if not thorough and prepared at all times. She's going to need something to make her feel more comfortable here, so us knowing who she is will help. What's her name?" Sue said and looked at him in a similar way she probably did when explaining simple concepts about human relation to Reed. Tony already knew that guy needed all the help he could get.

"For the record, I am nothing like Reed. Thank Christ." Tony said. Sue glared at him. "Audrey." Tony gave it up easily in order to change the subject. He wasn't in the armor at the moment, and was in no way interested in engaging Sue Storm's ire. "I've been calling her Baby Auds in my head."

Sue smiled at Tony suddenly. "That is... Strangely endearing." She said.

"I know, right? JARVIS thinks I'm insane, but that isn't anything new. Isn't that right, JARVIS?" Tony said, and glanced over at Reed, who was doing his best to look impatient, but failing and being indulgent of Sue's questions.

"I have no evidence to the contrary, sir." JARVIS said as crisply as possible through Tony's tablet speakers.

"I, for the record, am still against this. I just want everyone to know." She said.

"Noted." Reed said. "If you would join Tony and I over here, that should keep you out of harm's way."

"She can generate force fields. She's always out of harm's way." Tony observed, failing to add MORON to the end of his statement for the sake of brevity. He wanted out of the Baxter Building as soon as possible. Sue smiled again, and moved out of the way at her own pace.

"I have one more question. Who will take responsibility for her when you bring her here?" Sue asked.

"I assumed she could stay here with us until we can locate McCoy." Reed said.

"To be determined." Tony interjected. "This place does tend to get launched into space often enough to be worrisome."

"Tony, we raised Franklin here with us. He's always been fine." Sue said.

"And yet you don't deny the building being launched into space is an issue... Sue you know I love you. Reed, I mostly tolerate you without stabbing you in the eye, which is good enough under the circumstances... But if that kid is perfectly mentally balanced growing up in this death trap, then Howard would have won Teetotaler of the Century." Tony said. "Seriously, let's do this thing. I have a board meeting tomorrow that I've been putting off for six months. If I don't attend, my dried nutsack will be hanging from Pepper's rearview mirror."

"This could so easily turn into a disaster." Sue murmured.

"Don't be so negative. I bet she's delightful. Let's just hope she got Abigail's practicality and looks, and Hank's smarts and people skills, and not the other way around." Tony said.

Tony hit the juice, and Reed tuned up the portal, and it slowly started to open. Reed started muttering to himself as he read out statistics, energy levels, and suddenly came up with a longitude and latitude. "There. That's it." He said, and stretched his arm from his station to the portal. It vanished through the brilliant swirling light. "Got you." Reed said and pulled his arm back. A human form was dragged through the portal, Reed's hand around her upper arm in a hard grip.

"Ow, what the fuck?" She said. They were greeted with a young woman who looked very much of their time. She wasn't heavy or lean, and her only distinguishing features were tattooed arms. Otherwise she looked incredibly average, except for the look of astonishment on her face. She then caught sight of Reed's stretched arm retracting, Tony and the arc reactor, and Sue with a barely visible, protective force field around the three of them. "What. The. Fuck?" The young woman repeated and the colour drained from her face.

"She's stable here. Shut down the portal, Reed." Tony said, looking at the monitors in front of him.

"Working on it." Reed said. As the portal started to close, the lab was filled with a single, monstrous bark, and a large dog came through the portal, his leash dragging behind him. He immediately went to Audrey and bumped her hand with his head. The portal closed in a rush, and then silence reigned over the room. Audrey looked like she was barely holding herself up, and the dog took point between her and the rest of the room's occupants.

"What happened?" She whispered. "Where am I?"

"Okay, don't pass out." Tony started, abandoning his station. Sue dropped the force field around them.

"That's not reassuring." The girl said.

"Fair enough." Tony said, and sighed. "Do over?" When the girl made no reaction he took that as a sign to proceed. "All right... My name is Tony, this is Reed and Sue, and we need your help."

"I think I'm going to throw up." She said.

"Not unexpected after trans-dimensional travel." Reed said. Tony and Sue glared at him. "What?"

"Way to keep it subtle there, space cadet." Tony said through gritted teeth. He slid the metal wastepaper basket over to her. Audrey sank to her knees and promptly lost whatever it was she'd eaten last into it. The dog, sensing the wrongness of the situation, got close to Audrey and started growling.

"Easy boy." Tony said quietly to the dog. "Nobody is out to hurt anyone." He reached for an unopened bottle of water at his station, and rolled it across the floor to Audrey.

"You promise?" Audrey asked, her voice hoarse.

"Yup. No on here has anything other than kindly asking for your help." Sue said. Audrey took the bottle and took the cap off. She rinsed her mouth, and then drank the rest of it down.

"Easy Mac. No worries." Audrey said, and reached out to massage the dog's sizeable skull, and in doing so silenced the animal's growling.

"Bullmastiff?" Tony asked, trying to distract Audrey from the strangeness she'd suddenly found herself in.

"Yeah. He's friendly." She said. "But if someone doesn't tell me where the fuck I am soon, he'll pick up on my tension and won't be so friendly anymore." She shoved the wastepaper basket away from her and toward the wall.

"Okay." Tony said, and sat down cross-legged on the floor about ten feet away from her, and did his best to ignore the smell, while Reed's wastepaper basket suddenly sprouted wheels, and rolled toward the door of the lab. "What I am about to say is going to sound in the realm of batshit insane, but I swear it's true and I can back it up with video evidence and solid science."

"Keep talking." She said, looking on mildly at the wastepaper basket leaving of its own accord.

"My name is Tony Stark, and we've collected you to help us save the world from your father."

"Tony. Stark." She said, and her eyes narrowed at him. "Sweet fucking hell... I'm dreaming. I've gone insane. I knew I would eventually... But seriously, I thought it would be more lucid than this."

"What's not lucid about where we are at the moment? You've got all your senses. You're seeing in colour. If the drool monster there would let me in close enough, I could pinch you. This is all quite real."

"It's not that, Tony." She said and shook her head. "You're fictional. You don't exist."

"What?"

"You're not real. You're a comic book character. And so is that half of the Fantastic Four over there." She insisted.

"Huh... Wow... Where you're from, perhaps we don't exist. That would actually make sense considering that Hank and Abigail would have wanted you as safe as possible. Trust Hank to find a place where you would still know about us. Fucking madman that he is."

"Tony, focus." Sue said from behind him.

"Right, right."

"And you insist you're nothing like Reed. That belief is built on a foundation of lies." Sue said.

"Just, do me a favour and don't let that get around, Sue... Anyway, Audrey, can I call you Audrey?" Tony asked. She shivered, and looked like she might pass out again.

"Yeah. I guess." She murmured.

"Look, I'm sorry about having to creep on you to get your details, but we figured it was better for all involved. Your Twitter feed is hilarious, by the way. And I learned how ridiculously under-protected your world is in terms of computer code. Sorry, right, I was making a point. The point is that while we may not exist there, we exist here... And we've brought you here."

"And if I am cracking up and this is all in my head?"

"How about trying to enjoy it?" Tony asked as if that was the only conclusion. "Here is... Well, we have problems... But there are some damn cool things to see. Ever wanted to explore?"

"Sure... But... Other than this vague concept of here, where am I? What do you need from me?" She asked. Her voice was steadier now. The dog had cuddled close and they seemed to be steadying each other.

"Here is a different dimension. Same Earth, but parallel to your own. Are you familiar with the concept?"

"Vaguely. I've read some Hawking and Feynman." She said.

"Oh good. No seriously, thank fuck. I hate having to go remedial." Tony said.

"I didn't say how much of it I understood." She replied. Tony cracked a smile and chuckled a bit.

"Oh, probably more than you realize... So glad that Hawking and Feynman at least exist where you're from... I wonder if Hank created a pocket universe to keep you safe with all the great thinkers, etc, intact. That would make sense."

"Who's Hank? And Abigail?" She asked before Tony could start rambling again. She met Tony's eyes, and he realized she had her mother's green eyes.

"They are your parents... Or at least they're the people who smooshed their genetics together to make you. Hank specifically is why we brought you here. He needs your help."

"I have parents. Back home. By all agreed upon parties, I exited my mother's vagina in a timely fashion twenty-six years ago... So unless this is the biggest hospital switcheroo fuck up ever, I'm still not buying it, Mr. Stark." Audrey said.

"Okay, look, Hank's a genius. I'm a genius. Richards over there likes to pretend he's one."

"Would you give it a rest, Stark?" Reed grumbled. "I didn't see you opening up a goddamn portal to another dimension. All you did was provide the power."

"Reed." Sue said and sighed. "Tony, what did I say about working him up? Are you both children? Because I will put both of you in time out."

"I provided the intel. And the tech. And the know how to get this catastrophe you call a machine wired up properly... Moving along... Audrey, there are plenty of smart guys and gals kicking around this dimension... So many in fact, that we've overcome dimensional and time travel here and there. Your dad, well your biological father, is getting alarmingly good at it. He's also good at exploring inside a human body using advanced tech. What he did to you is possible here. Now his behaviour is threatening to cause some major damage to our comfy little timeline. I've already merged with a teenaged version of myself through some weird, WEIRD shit, among other things. I don't need any more of this kind of crap happening. And Hank skipping around in times and places he doesn't belong isn't helping the situation. It's only going to be a matter of time before he does real damage, or he becomes malicious in his intentions for the world." Tony said.

"Hank... Comics..." Audrey reasoned quietly. "Pym or McCoy?"

"Wow, your world's comics even got around to Pym? That's awesome... But the answer to your question is McCoy." Tony said.

"So that would make me..." She trailed off, and looked down at the dog.

"A mutant? Yes. Well, three quarters mutant, and one quarter alien on your mom's side. The odds are astronomically poor that here you will be anything other than X-gene positive..." Tony said.

"Way to keep it subtle there, space cadet." Audrey said as she looked at her hands. Tony let out a sharp, surprised laugh. She looked up at him, and her smile showed some relief. Tony could already see that sarcasm was a coping mechanism for her, and that was a good sign. She was coping. The plan was going to work.

"That's it, you're coming home with me. The Avengers Tower is way more fun than the Baxter Building anyway."

"I am still working on believing all this." She said.

"Look, let me put it to you another way... You said we're comic book characters where you're from... If you were going to imagine yourself in a comic book by way of delusion, wouldn't you put yourself somewhere way more awesome than with the Fantastic Four right off the bat?" Tony asked. "They have something called a Fantasticar... Seriously. It's ridiculous."

"The thing that looks like it belongs on the tracks of the Cyclone at Coney Island?" She asked.

"Yes! Oh my... Fuck... Yes. So much yes. That's it. I'm keeping you. I'll get you set up in a spot at the tower until we can talk some sense into your bio dad... And there will be towels. So many towels for that gargoyle of yours." Tony said. He got up, and carefully offered her his hand, mindful of the drool monster. Audrey paused and took a moment to gather her thoughts.

"Question... Will I be able to go home again, or was that a one way trip?" She asked. The room got quiet again.

"It's... Going to depend. On several things." Sue said quietly.

"What would that be?"

"The nature of your mutation, mostly." Reed said. "Your father's is... physical."

"Blue and furry." She said softly, like a child remembering a fact from a fairy tale.

"Yes, but he did that to himself. Before he had a mostly human appearance. Somewhat simian. Your mother's mutation is radiant heat, so far only observed from her hands. Hot enough to melt metal. However, her physical attraction to Hank is openly based on what her father's alien race looks like." Reed explained. His voice was attempting tenderness for the sake of the others. "It depends on how the X-gene expresses itself on if you will be able to return."

"Any timeline on that?" She asked. "If I went back right now, would it matter?"

"Most likely not. Coming back to your point of origin should be enough to activate it, but I don't know when that will be." Reed said. "And sending someone back who knew they had superior capabilities to other humans, to a world without a system to help you control your power, or that will foster a good moral base in you, is irresponsible."

"Dude, I'm a grown ass adult. I have a retirement fund. I floss. Hurting other people is wrong. Don't do it. What's the fucking problem?" Audrey said, her temper rising.

"And what if you went home and discovered you could melt your way through the walls of Fort Knox, or into a nuclear missile silo?" Reed countered.

"Hey, time out." Tony said and stepped in between them. He offered his hand to Audrey again, and this time she took it and got to her feet. "I wouldn't have agreed to this if I thought Hank would listen to anyone else. Even Abigail's tried, not that she's got any more people skills than your average coat rack... You'd think he'd listen to her, I mean I still listen to Pepper, mostly because she'd destroy me if I didn't, and she's somewhat less terrifying than Brand... Sorry, point, yes I have one... You could literally save our world, and all you would have to do is talk. We're not asking you to fight for humanity like we do. We're asking you to appeal to a man's sense of good."

"And most likely be stuck here forever with an ongoing sense of body horror. Sounds fucking great. What if it doesn't work?" She said and let go of his hand.

"Okay, gonna do something weird, don't freak out and sic Ghostbusters Terror Dog on me here." Tony said. He undid the top three buttons of his shirt, and exposed his chest. "This... This is body horror right here. I didn't choose it. It's cold, and it hurts all the fucking time. But it keeps me alive." He let Audrey get a good look at the arc reactor, and then carefully buttoned his shirt back up. "Reed and I have done some digging around, and we've come to the conclusion that you sort of... vanish from where you were. There's no record of you after a certain point."

"When is that point?" Audrey asked. Her jaw was tight, and she was keeping careful control of her expression and movement.

"About now. We discovered that there is no record of your future death there. There is no marriage record, no health record, nothing... It's... Look, you're from here. You were always meant to be here, so even if it doesn't work, you're where you should be in the universe... You're allowed to hate us for this. I get it. But I'm begging you here. This world is limping along as it is, and I can't stand to see one more person fucked with because of someone's selfishness." Tony said.

"What gives you assholes the right to fuck around in time and space, and not Hank McCoy? What gives you the right to be selfish about my life?"

"God, I already love the questions you ask. Fucking amazing." Tony said. "Seriously, you even think like him in regards to morals... Anyway... I have no answer for that. I, we... this world needs help. We need someone to get through to McCoy. All other efforts have failed. Hank has left both factions of the X-Men for who knows where. He's on Earth, but that's about all we know. We have to appeal to him to come to the table and talk."

"What has he done, exactly?" She asked, calming down.

"You want to get a beer or something and we can discuss that?" Tony asked.

"Fuck yes." Audrey said.

"Do you trust me enough to come back to the Avengers Tower?"

"No Fantasticars?"

"Fuck. No. I have a couple Audi R8s that are worth a look see though." Tony said. Audrey grinned, but her eyes were large and sad. Then a spark lit up in them, and she looked to Reed and Sue.

"Okay, I get it, possible scary powers, can't go to a world that doesn't know how to handle them for fear of fucking it up... But from the way you spoke, it's possible to go back... Could I visit? I have family and friends... Really good family and friends. Well, my brother is sort of an idiot, but everyone's brother is sort of an idiot."

"Tell me about it." Sue said, and rolled her eyes.

"Oh, in this case, I AM the idiot brother... Well, adopted brother. It's... confusing." Tony said.

"Again, it depends. They would have to be extremely secretive. They would also have to understand your status as mutant. Which can be difficult if the mutation is physical. But I wouldn't rule it out completely by any means." Reed said. Audrey nodded.

"Okay." She said, and his words gave her the spark of hope she needed.


	2. Everyday People

"So his name is Mac?" Steve asked.

"Yeah." Audrey said.

"What a face." Steve said warmly, and scratched behind the dog's ears.

"Warning, Bullmastiffs are the best kissers in all of dogdom." Audrey said, but it was already too late. Mac had stepped forward and was attempting to remove Steve's chin with his tongue. Steve squawked with laughter and scratched behind the brindle ears more vigorously.

"Who's a good boy?" He asked Mac, who made a better effort to get close to Steve.

"Pathetic." Tony said, and rolled his eyes. "What's your poison, Audrey?"

"IPAs, whiskey, Pinot Noir or Malbec." She said. She was seated at the bar in Tony's penthouse.

"Malbec. I have a nice Malbec." He said, and drifted a few feet away to the wine rack. Tony returned with a generous glass of wine for her, and a beer for himself and Steve, and sat on the other side of her. He'd asked Steve to be around, because of all the Avengers, he was the most stable personality. She was going to need that.

"So, what was it you were doing when Reed and Tony, uh, picked you up?" Steve said.

"Taking him on his daily trek by the lake. He's my hiking buddy. He's usually my drinking buddy too."

"That explains the outdoorsy gear. I'm glad Reed didn't snag you in the shower or anything." Tony said.

"That makes two of us." Audrey said mildly and sipped from the wine glass. "Oh, that IS nice." She said, and raised her glass to Tony, who met it with his beer bottle.

"What is it you do?" Steve asked. He was so at ease and calm to Tony's hyperactive that it was a nice balance.

"Lots of odd things. I squeak by on creative work mostly. Real media art and photography. Money is tight, but I keep him in kibble and vaccinations, and myself in rent and food... I don't need much to live." She said.

"Oh, you draw?" Steve asked. Tony adored Steve for this. He made people feel safe and valued. If he'd had a mutant power, likeability would have been it.

"Yeah. Among other things." She said.

"I have a studio a few floors down. JARVIS can get you there if I'm not around to show it to you. Please feel free to use it, and anything in there." He said. Tony smiled wide when Audrey gave Steve a smile, and the tension in her eyes faded.

"Right, JARVIS, would you please introduce yourself?" Tony said.

"Of course, sir. Good evening, Ms. Whelan. I am JARVIS." Said JARVIS' disembodied voice. Audrey looked around her tentatively. She could see that Tony was enjoying her confusion.

"Hello JARVIS." She said politely. "Who are you?"

"I am Mr. Stark's AI. I am present in most public areas of the tower, and am accessible at your discretion in private quarters as well, either through verbal or on screen interface. I look after most functions of the structure, including ambient temperature, lighting levels, security, and media. As well I look after practical needs such as grocery or food orders. Simply address me by name, and ask for what you need, and I shall do my best to help you procure it." JARVIS said in a friendly tone. Tony had to be impressed. JARVIS could be cool at first to people he didn't know. But he'd been listening in since before Audrey arrived via Tony's tablet, and seemed to be cutting the confused woman some slack. Even if her personal beastie was currently drooling on Tony's floor.

"Remarkable." Audrey said, her eyes wide. "JARVIS, that's... Wow. AIs were still pretty rudimentary where I'm from. I assume Tony built you."

"Yes, sir is responsible for my creation." JARVIS said.

"He's being humble. I gave him a few primary protocols, basic moral sense, and how to draw conclusions, but most of the heavy lifting that made him what he really is today he did on his own. He's a sentient, learning AI. He's great to talk to and bounce ideas off of. Warning though, he can be bitchy." Tony warned, but he had a grin on his face.

"Shit, I was just reading an article about Bill Gates warning about the dangers of AIs... Clearly he just wasn't doing them right yet. JARVIS seems so amiable. How do you balance what he can do with humanity's need to work and be productive, without him taking over?" Audrey asked. Tony leaned forward and kissed her temple. Audrey didn't look offended, but rather slightly confused at his action.

"Ha, there is a nerd under the bohemian outdoorsy exterior. I knew it. We have to be careful of JARVIS so his primary protocols don't become corrupted by outside sources, but other than that, he's invaluable and still very much one of a kind. It's impractical at this point to have more of him, or widen his ability to operate. He takes a lot of resources to run and function properly, but he's worth every penny. I couldn't do what I do without him." Tony said.

"That's very kind of you to say, sir." JARVIS said.

"I know, but the praise is warranted... So, for now, the robot revolution is a little ways off, and I'm working on side plans for what people can do when it does happen." Tony said.

"Wait... Edwin Jarvis?" Audrey asked suddenly.

"Named after the one and only. Shit. What was in these comics you were reading? How many of them did you read?" Tony asked.

"I was a tomboy in the 1990's. Comics sort of exploded into almost being cool. I read my share." She said quietly.

"Comics?" Steve asked.

"I think McCoy created an Earth-sized pocket dimension to keep Audrey safe. In said dimension, we're fictional characters. Comic book heroes... Or villains. We're heroes, right? I never did ask." Tony said.

"Yes, Tony. The Avengers are heroes. As are the Fantastic Four and X-Men... Though in the books, the X-men and Spiderman had a tougher time with public acceptance. However, among readers, they were always fan favourites." Audrey said and smiled.

"Mutants. Always with the shiny mutants." Tony said and rolled his eyes. "I have awesome super powers and I look great in form fitting clothing. My life is so hard... Wah... Some of us had to earn our hero cred by building it from the ground up." Audrey laughed quietly at that.

"So there are no super humans where you're from?" Steve asked.

"Nope. None. No alien invasions either... Well unless you believe that whack job with the spray tan and stupid hair, that somehow got his idiot self on the History Channel." Audrey said.

"We have that guy too. Clint watches him. He claims it's for the irony. Whack jobs on TV aside, that sounds... Peaceful." Steve said.

"Hardly. People are still douchebags to each other. Sadly." Audrey replied. "World War I and II still happened. The holocaust still happened. My grandfather helped liberate Bergen-Belsen. He was one of the bulldozer drivers... September 11th still happened... I was in class that day. And the freaky Hobbit looking head of the art department came in and let it drop. Being typical art students, were all kind of hung over and/or stoned, so we really had no idea what to make of it. That was a weird day. There weren't enough drugs for that day, let me tell you." She said.

"Tell me about it." Tony agreed, and held up his beer bottle. Audrey met it with a clink of her wineglass.

"Can you tell me about Hank now, or do I need to finish this and get another?" Audrey asked, looking at her glass.

"I'll get the bottle. Do you want another beer, Steve?" Tony asked.

"No, I'll take OJ if you got it though." He said and looked at Tony with genuine affection.

"At least you didn't ask for Ovaltine." Tony muttered. Audrey smirked.

"No friend like an old friend, is there?" She asked Steve.

"Something like that." Steve agreed.

Tony set the bottle down in front of her after topping up her glass. "So, Henry McCoy... How to explain." He mused, and came back around the bar to sit beside her again. "Tell me what you know about him, actually. That could save time."

"Born somewhere in the mid-west, was a football player before he went to college, big hands and feet, then, fucked up an experiment and turned himself blue and furry... He was one of Xavier's first students, if not seen later as more of a contemporary. Friends with Bobby Drake. Smart. Wicked smart. I always liked Hank in the comics. He wasn't afraid to be smart. Even over the brawny exterior." She said.

"Don't worry, that part is the same. Everyone likes Hank." Tony agreed. "And if they don't, they're too scared to admit that they don't know what the hell he's saying."

"He does talk like a Shakespearean sonnet most of the time." Steve said. "One of the advantages of having a pre 1950's education is that I understand most of the literary references he makes." Audrey and Tony laughed, which seemed to please Steve to no end.

"If everyone likes Hank, why did he go off the deep end?"

"One shit storm after another, and a too kind goddamn heart." Tony said. "In the past few years, Hank has been pushed to extremes, and while I deal with things by being a dick, and Steve here can compartmentalize himself into a soldier, we all cope differently. I think Hank is at the end of his rope. He doesn't have anything left to believe in. I think that adorable little mutant Brood alien getting hurt was what did him in."

"Back up... I think I remember the Brood... They infect people, turn them into Brood, right? Fuck, I knew I should have bought that Marvel Encyclopedia."

"Basically." Tony said.

"They have encyclopedias of comic book characters now?" Steve said.

"Fiction can be serious business, Steve. Lots of money to be spent. The way people love you here for your heroics, people love you there and add in an element of wishful thinking and it's a recipe fandom." Audrey said. "So, adorable and Brood are not what I would put together. They look like giant bugs, right?"

"Yeah he's not much to look at, but Broo is little and just a fucking sweetheart of a kid despite his appearance. Great scientific mind in the making there. And he's polite and adorable to everyone around him... If he ever recovers, I have to introduce him to Nova. He's a Nova fanboy."

"What happened to him?"

"Shot in the head trying to help a friend. He survived. McCoy repaired the physical damage, but Broo has reverted to a more feral state like the rest of the Brood... It's what Hank has feared will happen to him his entire life, and he failed to prevent it happening to someone else... And before that, holy shit, the things that happened before that. He brought the past version of himself and the rest of the original X-Men into the future. And now we can't get them home again. The timeline spat them back out here. Without them around to have world events unfolding as they should, this could get interesting." Tony said.

"And you're sure it's actually them and not like, Skrulls or something?" Audrey asked.

"They pass the powers, DNA, psychic exam, and Wolverine's sniff test. Young Hank even helped stabilize current Hank's mutation." Tony explained.

"Why did he bring them here?" Audrey asked.  
"Because Scott murdered Charles Xavier. Hank's taken issue with Scott Summers' philosophy, and wanted the younger version of Scott to see what he'd become. For the purpose of either trying to change it, or talk some sense into the current Scott. Now they've stayed too long, and most of them have gone over to Scott's side of the argument. It's all very much a clusterfuck."  
"So Hank was on the other side of it. Who else was?"

"It's the X-men, and they hook up with each other and shift loyalties more than a soap opera... Last I knew, Logan was on the other side of it, along with Bobby Drake, Kitty Pryde, Storm, and a few others. Hank is out of play at the moment, so I don't know where his loyalties are. I don't know where he is in a geographical sense either... Logan is running a school up in Westchester for young mutants. I could take you there if you'd like, but you're beyond school age." Tony said.

"No, I'm good here if you're still okay with having me here. I think I'm going to need to get my bearings. You're talkative and very much of this time and place. That will help." Audrey said.

"Tell me about it." Steve said and grinned.

"I am not that bad." Tony said. "Anyway, would you like something to eat and to meet the rest of the crew? We should introduce you to Bruce for sure. While not technically a medical doctor, he fills that role around here for us more often than not. You'd like him."

"Can I bring the wine?" Audrey asked.

"After the day you've had, I'll bring the bottle too." Tony said and grinned. Mac was already getting himself up and stretching lazily. "JARVIS, who do we have in house this evening?"

"Doctor Banner is in the kitchen. Agent Barton is playing MarioKart in the common room. Agent Coulson is also there, but attending to some SHEILD filing. Agent Romanov is on assignment. Thor Odinson is off world at the moment, but his itinerary indicates he will be back in the next day or two." JARVIS replied.

"Probably for the best. Thor can be... A lot to deal with. Best to just ease you into this." Tony said.

Tony led them to the elevator and then down to the common kitchen. "Hey Tones. Cap." Said the man on the couch with the game controller in his hands said. Then he actually looked up. "Hey! Who brought the dog?" That got the guy in the suit with his head behind a laptop to look up as well.

"Hers." Tony said. "Apparently he's dumb enough to go careening through a trans-dimensional portal after his owner."

"I think most people would call it loyalty." Steve said quietly.

"So this is McCoy and Brand's kid? I was expecting something more exotic." Barton said.

"X-gene isn't active yet. Not sure on the timeline that happening. We'll see." Tony said. "And you know, you could be polite and introduce yourselves and not just stare at her like she's a zoo animal."

Barton took the hint, made eye contact with her, and held out his hand. "Hi, I'm Clint. That guy buried in paperwork is Phil."

"Audrey." She replied. She shook Clint's hand and then Coulson's.

"Malbec is a good choice after tripping through dimensions." Phil observed.

"I like you already." She said to him.

"Hi there buddy." Said a voice from inside the kitchen. Mac clearly had his priorities in order and had proceeded without them. "What's your name?" Audrey followed the sound of the voice, and went into the kitchen. Mac had his massive paws up on the counter and was demanding attention from the guy standing at the cutting board.

"Mac." She said softly. The dog turned and looked at her. "Get down. You know better." Mac nudged the man once more but dutifully put all four feet on the floor again.

"Well trained for such a big guy." Bruce observed.

"Bullmastiffs tend to be very sensitive to tone of voice. If you have them convinced that you're the boss, you never need to over react." Audrey said.

"So you must be Audrey. I'm Bruce. I see that Reed and Tony succeeded. Are you alright?" Bruce asked.

"Not sure yet. It's been a weird day." She said.

"Disorienting to say the least... Have you eaten yet?" He asked. She observed his patient nature, and was charmed by the gentle way he patted Mac on the head.

"Nope, and whatever that is, it smells delicious." Audrey said.

"So get this..." Tony said as he blustered into the room. He was holding a tablet in one hand and the half empty bottle of Malbec in the other. "I think McCoy either found or created a pocket dimension, where we don't exist as anything other than fictional characters."

"Oh really?" Bruce asked, going back to the saucepan on the stove.

"Yeah, Audrey here says we're all comic book characters where she's from. So needless to say, she's sort of worried that she's delusional or dreaming."

"Can you blame me?" Audrey asked.

"That would be the most logical explanation for anybody." Bruce agreed.

"Thank you." She said.

"Still, really interesting phenomena... She knows a lot about our world this way. Say, you never did say how you ended up a comic book reader." Tony said.

"I... One of my best friends growing up struggled with reading. The school tried. His parents tried. But the things that really got him reading were comic books. If he had a picture to associate with the words, it was easier for him. I never had an issue with reading. I don't actually remember learning how. Never had to be taught what letters made what sounds. It was just always there. He didn't have that, so I helped him out by reading comics with him." She said softly. "Now the bugger reads more books in a year than I do." She paused, half caught in a smile, and suddenly looked like she might cry. Mac noticed and was instantly at her side. She put her hand on his solid head and took a deep breath.

Tony saw it, but wasn't sure he could identify the expression. Steve however knew it intimately, and reached out and put a hand on her shoulder. "We're sorry that we had to do this to you." Steve said. "It wasn't your choice, and it shouldn't have to happen to anybody. But what we're facing is serious enough to get Tony Stark and Reed Richards to agree on something, and we can't take that lightly. We'll be here for you. We'll help you. I promise you that... We all know what it's like to feel lost."

Audrey smiled a little, but her eyes were still sad. Still she couldn't resist looking around Steve to Tony. "Does he practice this shit? Because seriously, that came out way too perfectly."

"Every morning when he's shaving." Tony explained and gave her an impish grin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In a history of writing strange Fan Fic, this is coming out near the top of the list. Just roll with it. I'm trying to keep it fun... Comments are welcomed and encouraged. All of them.


	3. Have a Cuppa Tea

Steve returned from his morning run to find Audrey returning from a morning walk with Mac. He graciously held the door and made noises about breakfast, which Audrey seemed interested in. She'd spent the evening talking with the in house Avengers, and killed the bottle of wine like it had said something bad about her grandma. Or at least that's how Tony had put it after they'd set her and Mac up in a comfortable bedroom.

She was wearing Stark Industries sweats and her sturdy boots from the day before. Mac seemed happy enough with his surroundings and begged Steve for pets while they rode the elevator up. "How's he doing?" Steve asked, as he bent down to scratch behind Mac's ears.

"Good. We're both a bit shell shocked... But you know how it is. Probably better than anyone else here." She said.

"And unlike Tony, I am used to people knowing about me through comic books." Steve said and Audrey smiled. She rolled her left hand around, like it was sore, but in a way that appeared she wasn't actively thinking about it.

"Did Mac pull on the leash?" Steve asked, eyeing up her hand.

"No. Though Reed yanked me pretty hard through the portal... But it didn't hurt yesterday." She said. Steve had a long time reading expressions and focused on her like he had the previous evening.

"You're worried." He said. "What's up? I mean, other than the obvious." She looked him over carefully, and then gave a shrug, like she was consciously choosing to not hide whatever it was that was on her mind.

"Worried about being a mutant. And probably one who can't hide it. Because it's going to happen soon, whatever it is that happens... I woke up early and went on the internet on the tablet Tony let me borrow. I found some pictures of Hank... It's a lot more jarring in real life than on the comic page." She said.

"You don't know what it's going to be like. Nobody does yet." Steve said.

"Prepare for the worst, hope for the best, and expect anything as my mom used to say. Currently, I am mentally preparing for the worst." Audrey said.

"Just so long as you don't forget to hope for the best." Steve said and stood up. Mac nosed after him. "Come on, let's go make breakfast."

"Okay... I either need to make Mac some food or find a replacement kibble for him." She said.

"You can make your own dog food?"

"Dog guts are like ours. Very adaptable. However, you have to watch it with him. Horrendous farts when you feed him the wrong things." Audrey said and Steve laughed.

"He's a big dog. That's no wonder. I think he weighs as much as Tony. And maybe more than Natasha." Steve said.

"That's because he's a chubbers." Audrey said in an exaggerated voice. Mac looked up at her with adoring eyes and bounced. "Yes you are. If you're going to be a city dog, we're going to have to watch what you eat." She scratched his head and smiled. "Thank god he jumped through after me. I don't know what I would have done without him. It makes all of this feel more real, ya know? If I was delusional, would I still have to pick up my dog's turds? I would hope my fantasies would have me doing more exciting things." Steve chuckled at that, and the elevator door opened.

"I think you're going to be okay, Audrey." Steve said. "I really do."

"Well tell that to my joint soreness." She said as they went to the kitchen.

"We need to tell Tony and Bruce about that. Breakfast first though." Steve said. They made omelets and coffee, and sat down at stools at the kitchen counter. Tony wandered in already wearing a suit, but his tie undone and draped over the back of his neck. He set down his tablet and pocketed his phone, and made a beeline for the coffeemaker.

"Bless you." He mumbled to them after he'd taken a few sips.

"You're welcome." Steve said. "You're up early."

"Board meeting. I wanted to get it out of the way as early as possible." Tony said.

"You mean the meeting you've been crowing about avoiding for six months?" Steve asked.

"I'm a busy man, okay? Believing six impossible things before breakfast is way easier than my life which includes actually having to achieve them." Tony said.

"Really? I think I'm probably the only one in this room who's allowed to make Through the Looking Glass references right now." Audrey said. Tony smiled a bit into his coffee mug. She seemed charmed by his subdued pre-caffeinated state and smiled back.

"Oh, hey" He said. "Steve, can you take one of my credit cards, go out with Audrey... Get clothes, and anything she wants to keep herself entertained. I'll get her a phone and number this afternoon. And don't forget stuff for Cerberus there."

"Depends on if she's up for it." Steve said. He gave Audrey a look, and waited for her to speak for herself.

"Joint soreness. I thought the walk with Mac would help. It hasn't." She said.

"How bad?" Tony asked.

"Going to need painkillers soon I think." She admitted. Tony set down his coffee mug and came to instant attentiveness.

"Okay, I'll get Banner up from the lab. He'll probably want to monitor you, but it will mostly be hands off. It can be stressful to see a mutant's X-gene activate. He may want to call others in to consult. Is that all right?" Tony asked.

"Sure." She said. "Look, for now, I'm fine. And I really need to get Mac a proper food."

"We'll get it. Tell JARVIS the brand, or what you're looking for in terms of nutritional value, and we'll get it. You don't need to suffer through this. It can be traumatic enough without you torturing yourself." Tony said. He was getting to like Audrey, and be damned if she put herself through more than she had to. He knew all about kicking his own ass and cowboying up, and his martyr complex firmly told him that only he was allowed that behaviour. Of course, his logic told him he was an idiot, but he already knew that. Tony pulled out his phone, and texted Bruce, and told him to bring the "good shit". "Auds, what's your opinion on medicinal marijuana use?"

"Auds?" She asked and managed to grin around her pain.

"Yeah... I... Nevermind."

"No, it's fine. I never really got nicknames as a kid... And I have no moral objection to pot. I already told you I got stoned on 9/11."

"Good. Because I know Hank has used it in the past when his mutation was unstable." Tony said.

"Will that happen to me? Will I be in pain forever?"

"Most likely not. Hank experimented on himself. It had consequences." Tony explained. Bruce appeared at the door of the kitchen, looking slightly winded. He was carrying a small box.

"You rang?" Bruce asked.

"Yes, Lurch. Audrey's in pain. Says it's in her joints." Tony said.

"JARVIS, can you give me a quick scan of Audrey's vitals?" Bruce asked.

"Of course, Doctor Banner." JARVIS said. "Elevated heart and respiration rate, temperature of 99.3"

"I'm okay for now." Audrey insisted slowly. "And the dog has to be fed. You always feed livestock first. I feel guilty for having had breakfast before him."

"You grew up on a farm, didn't you?" Bruce asked.

"Animals get attended to. No matter how shitty you're feeling." Audrey said.

"So you admit you feel shitty." Tony said. Audrey glared at him.

"Traitor. I thought you were cool, Stark." She said.

"Look, we'll get you comfortable, and I'll come up and mix him up some chicken, carrots, and oatmeal." Bruce said calmly. "Your devotion to him is so great to see." Audrey's shoulders relaxed.

"Okay." She agreed.

"You're like Tony. You don't know how crappy you feel until you admit it." Bruce said warmly. "It's okay. You'll be fine."

"Should we call someone like Cecelia Reyes in?" Tony asked.

"She's on Utopia with Cyclops' camp. I think Kavita Rao is at the Jean Grey School now though. She might be able to help us. She's not Hank McCoy, but she's very good." Bruce said. The names weren't familiar to Audrey, but Bruce's relaxed manner made her give up the idea of protesting. "We have to be aware though, that if we bring in Doctor Rao, she will figure out who your parents are. She's a geneticist specializing in mutant DNA. So there won't be any anonymity."

"I don't see how it matters if its now or later." Audrey said.

"Okay then." Bruce said. "I'm going to make you some tea. Steve, can you see Audrey back to her room? Then I'll come up here with Mac and feed him." Audrey nodded.

"All right. That works." She said. "Bruce... Are you making me weed tea?"

"Yeah." He said casually. "I find it works better than most conventional pain killers for people with higher metabolisms."

"Good way to use up the stems." Audrey said and grinned.

"I love that you know that." Tony said, and started in on his tie. "Seriously, you and Hank should get on like a house on fire. Actually, you know what? Once we get our hands on Hank, I am going to demand he smoke a bowl and chill the fuck out. Will you guys be all right? I have to be at that damn meeting in ten minutes. I'll try to get out as quickly as I can."

"We'll be fine." Bruce said gently. "Go." Tony finished with his tie, slugged down the rest of his coffee and headed for the elevator, tablet in hand. Audrey's game face faded a little with Tony gone. There was a tightness around her eyes. Steve took her arm gently and started to lead her out of the kitchen.

The tea did its job and Audrey slept until early afternoon peacefully. Bruce observed her vitals and when Dr. Kativa Rao arrived, so did Logan and Kitty Pryde. Steve stepped in then, keeping the two X-Men at a healthy distance, and refusing to answer questions about a late-twenties mutant who was only now feeling the effects of her X-gene. "That's her place to tell you, and she's asleep. So keep it down." The tension between Logan and Steve was palpable until Tony finally got out of his meeting. Bruce and Rao removed themselves from the room for the sake of actual constructive conversation.

Tony had come in like a hurricane, on the phone already apologizing to Pepper for his behaviour. He stood at the door to Audrey's room, absently petting her gargoyle while he spoke. "Just, I got a team thing. So can we send out the typical We All Know Stark is a Douchiest of Bags, But You Decided to Take this Job, so Suck it up and Enjoy the Free Swag gift basket? ...I don't know, do people say swag anymore? I don't care. You understood what I meant, Pep... Toss in the new Starkphones and have them beta them, all right? Once the board sees them in action that should help smooth things over with R&D... Yes Pepper. I already told you I was sorry, Pepper. I am. I am sorry. But I will not tolerate skimping on quality to pad their bonuses for the year. I would rather take a hammer to Dummy. The incompetent bot that he his... Okay. Okay. I love you too. We'll get lunch later this week and I'll tell you what's up. I promise... Bye."

Tony looked up at the room's occupants. He pretended to not see Steve grinning at him as he continued to pet Mac's head. "So how's the patient?"

"Still out." Steve said. "No complaints of pain anymore though."

"Good... Logan. Pryde." Tony acknowledged.

"Stark." Logan said. "How long were you going to keep this from us?"

"See, that's my issue right there. She's a she, a her, not a this. Her name is Audrey, and she's had a shitty couple of days and it's most likely about to get worse." Tony replied. Both Pryde and Logan looked sufficiently chastised. "And if you plan on getting mad, get out of this room, and we can go outside and settle this like big kids. Leave her to sleep."

"Why so protective?" Kitty asked. "If she's my age and her X-gene wasn't active, where did she come from? Because it certainly wasn't here."

"Does it matter?" Tony countered.

"Yes, it sort of does." She replied.

"What I will tell you for now, is that she always should have been here. Maybe not this old at this time, but time and place are so easily manipulated these days." Tony said. Steve observed carefully, not sure how much Tony wanted to give away about their houseguest, and let Tony direct the conversation. He was very good at spin when it was needed. He was even better at arguing.

"What are you implying, Stark?" Logan asked.

"Nothing. I imply nothing. I am merely calling it like I see it." Tony retorted. Steve held his hand up.

"Anything louder than this gets banished to the roof." Steve said, noticing Audrey's eyes fluttering. She shifted in her sleep and rolled over.

"What makes you so inclined to be so protective of a mutant?" Kitty asked.

"Because it was mutants who got her in this situation in the first place. And I like her. She's fun to talk to. It's been so long since I've met someone like that." Tony said.

"You have to understand our paranoia." Kitty said softly. "There were so few of us left."

"Yeah, nigh unto genocide cannot be a good time... But you need to trust that we at least, have no issue with mutants. I am telling you now, that I won't let you move her anywhere. She's as safe here as she is anywhere." Tony said.

"We'll be keeping a close eye." Logan said.

"Good. Because we need you. The world is so colossally fucked right now. So any assistance you can offer in the matter will be appreciated." Tony said.

"I don't like that you're hiding something from me about a mutant, Stark." Logan said. His anger was becoming a heavier presence in the room, and Steve was glad that Bruce had left.

"I think she's going to need something more for the pain soon." Steve murmured quietly. Tony looked over Audrey very carefully and saw that her brow was taught, and beads of sweat at her temples. The most noticeable thing though was Steve covering her hand, which had slipped out from under the bedspread, with his. Under Steve's fingers was a hand with a blue-green coat of fur. The hand itself was almost the size of Steve's and was tipped with sharp claws. Mac the dog was on the other side of the bed, his chin resting on the bedspread, sniffing carefully. "It's okay buddy. Come on up and lay down." Steve said. Mac got up on the bed with grace that didn't suit his size and shape, and settled in next to Audrey.

"Listen, I get it." Tony said to Logan. "Your school is the last, best hope for young mutants. But she's an adult, and she gets to choose whether or not you get to know anything about her." Steve was silently proud of Tony as he stroked his thumb over the surprisingly soft fur. Having Tony Stark on your side was like having small, angry, ANGRY, foul-mouthed Atticus Finch cursing it up for your welfare. There would never be a more tenacious advocate. "Now, we're all moving out of this room except for Steve and the dark-roasted miniature Wendigo there, and I am going to grab Bruce so we can keep her comfortable." There was a beat where nobody moved. Tony pointed to the door. "Out. Now." He said. Logan narrowed his eyes at Tony, so Kitty started them moving by phasing Logan out in order to avoid a brawl.

Once they were gone for a few moments, Audrey's eyes fluttered open. "Sorry Steve. That guy was terrifying. I really didn't want to talk to him." She whispered.

"He in the comics too?" Steve asked.

"Yup." She said.

"I take it his reputation preceded him there as well."

"To say the least." She said.

"You in pain?" He asked.

"Yes." She said. "I can... I can feel my hands. But I'm scared to look at them."

"You don't have to yet if you don't want to." Steve said. He kept the movement of his thumb over the back of her hand steady and soft. "But they don't bother me any."

"Of course they don't. They're not yours." She said darkly, but she didn't try to pull away from him.

"Hank gets along with them all right." Steve said.

"Hank's had a longer time to get used to the idea."

"It'll come."

"Tell me about it." She said and rolled her eyes. Bruce and Tony knocked gently and came into the room.

"Look, I'm just saying that it shouldn't be illegal to kill Canadians." Tony said, and Bruce was sporting his droll little smile. He was holding a large cup of tea and a couple of pills. "Especially that Canadian. I don't care how useful he can be. He's strutting around like he's the second coming of Charles Xavier. Only if Xavier had a thing for remorselessly stabbing people in the face."

"Yeah, but the survival rate of young mutant graduates is up... Look what he did with that insane Quentin Quire kid. That kid is as normal as he's ever going to get now after having been a Phoenix host." Steve said.

"And he mostly got Quire there by repeatedly threatening to stab him in the face. Am I the only one seeing that pattern?" Tony asked. "Hey, Audrey. Out of the way Cousin It... Don't you give me that face. We're here on a mission of mercy." Mac gave the canine equivalent of rolling his eyes, and moved to give Bruce just enough room to sit on the edge of the bed. Tony went around to the same side that Steve was on, and plunked down beside him on the arm of the easy chair Steve was sitting in. Bruce started speaking to avoid Tony going off on another tangent.

"Doctor Rao thinks that we're on the right track. We're mostly stuck with just riding it out." He said quietly. "We keep you as comfortable as possible, and we try to let nature take its course. She even thought the tea was a good idea for keeping you calm throughout."

"There's a reason why people call you a genius, Bruce." Tony said, and smiled.

"Speaking of which, can I interest you in some of this?" Bruce said, holding up the mug.

"I... Yeah..." Audrey said and hesitated. Bruce looked at her expectantly, but narrowed his eyes when she saw he wasn't taking the offered item.

"Oh." Tony said. "Oh, of course." He shifted over to the bed, sat down, and gently took Audrey's hand out from underneath's Steve's and pressed the back of it to his lips in a kiss, and then laced her fingers through his, and held her hand to his cheek. "It's only freaky at first." He muttered. "It'll be okay."

Audrey looked shocked, but it was more because of Tony's lack of reaction than what her hands looked like now. Tony's absence of fear gave her no other reaction but to see the situation for what it was. Even if she feared it, it wasn't going to change, but that it could be accepted and dealt with. Still, there would be her personal revulsion to deal with. Tony, Steve, and Bruce might not care, but she would have to learn to accept it for herself, and it was going to take time. "Says the guy who isn't becoming the subject of a fetish porn website." She said.

"I already am one." Tony said and tapped the arc reactor in his chest. "There are as many tech fetishists out there as there are fur fetishists."

"I find it adorable and terrifying that in a world of alien invasions, Norse gods, and super humans, people can have such quaint fetishes... And that you personally have the time on your hands to know what they are." Audrey said. Tony's chuckled against her hand.

"Every boy needs a hobby." Tony said. Audrey laughed, but it was a strained effort. "Bruce, let's get some B.C. Gold into this girl. She clearly needs it... Note to self, do not kill Canadians who are producers of B.C. Gold." He took the mug from Bruce and carefully placed it into Audrey's hand. "You'll probably have to watch your grip on things for awhile. Hank's been known to be able to lift about ten tons when under stress. It will be an adjustment period." He said quietly. Audrey took a careful, steady grip on the mug, using the pads of her fingers carefully, and not letting it slip through the claws. "Good." He said.

"I love this century." Steve said randomly. "Time, space, everything is malleable... Except for Rule 34. It's refreshing that some things don't change. We just didn't have a name for it back in the forties." How Audrey managed to keep hold of the mug during the ensuing roar of laughter from all four of them she would later chalk up to her forming hyper dexterity.

"Rogers!" Tony shouted when he could form coherent words once more. "Rogers, why I never. Oh my god. JARVIS, is that recorded? Please save that to my private server immediately."

"Already done sir, under the Save Everything Whenever Steve Rogers Makes People Laugh protocol." JARVIS said.

"I'm only technically old." Steve said. "And I think we all needed that."

"I really did. Thanks, Steve." Audrey said. She shifted and sat up a little to sip at the tea. "And thanks for watching over me while the freaky guy was here. Hoo, scary."

"Yeah, we'll have to watch out for Logan... And probably Summers now too. Word travels fast in their social circle." Steven said, thinking ahead for ways to keep Audrey safe. "He's... Not as bad as he first appears to be. He's moral... Just, sometimes those morals are questionable."

Bruce held up the pills in his hand in order to change the subject. "I brought some multivitamins too. You're going to need to have a steady caloric intake if Hank's old notes are still accurate." Bruce said. "The tea at least will help you keep your appetite up."

"Yay, munchies." Audrey said, and took a sip. "Thanks for putting the honey in it, Bruce. Makes it taste less like skunk anus."

"I'm here to help." Bruce said. "Even if it means sharing my stash."

"Just the stems. You don't even use the stems." Tony said.

"Oh I do... I make a special blend for Natasha when she wants to sleep." Bruce said.

"Doesn't SHIELD do drug testing?" Tony asked.

"They do. But the main reason she can't sleep is Clint not being able to sleep, so she feeds it to him, and both of them tend to have leniencies that most other agents don't get. Coulson's good that way." Bruce said. Tony and Steve grinned.

"I'll have to sit down and have tea with Clint some time." Audrey said.

"He'd probably like that." Steve said.


	4. The Way I Tend to Be

Thor and Natasha arrived back at the tower for the worst of it. Audrey spent a night on the bathroom floor, claiming that the cool tile helped as the fur grew in, covering her body. Bruce had to excuse himself when her vocal chords gave way from human crying into loud, eardrum rumbling leonine roars, trying to diminish the pain by expressing it vocally. To everyone and no one's surprise, it was Tony who hung closest.

He put off meetings with the R&D department, and explained the situation to Pepper within earshot of where Audrey was. He was honest with Pepper that part of it was his guilt for bringing her here, and part of it was he was experienced with long-term, severe pain. Pepper had acknowledged that, and then told him sternly to get some sleep and something to eat. She then took to sending food up to them at regular intervals. Steve had managed to keep both Tony and Audrey fed to a bare minimum level, and that was fine with him for now.

It was the next afternoon when things finally got quiet. Natasha took one look at the heap of bodies on the guestroom's bathroom floor and sighed. No one was moving. "Tasha." Tony said, too tired to bother saying her entire name. "Welcome to the party... Oh, hey Thor. Nice to have you back."

Tony was sitting with his back up against the side of the wide, tiled shower in jeans and a thin, hooded sweatshirt. One hand was massaging Audrey's neck, and the other was around the neck of a bottle of scotch. Audrey looked up in passing at the new arrivals but then laid her head back on the floor, a deep, lion growl emanated from her chest and the back of her throat. Steve was seated on the floor on the other side of the shower, drinking a coffee, and working on a plate of sandwiches. Mac was cuddled up close to Steve, and as close to the sandwiches as he was allowed to be.

"Friend Tony, Bruce has told us of your exploits these past days." Thor said. "Might we be of assistance?"

"You guys look like hell." Natasha said. Clint was lurking somewhere in the background, angling to get Mac's attention to take him for a walk.

"How dare you acknowledge me as anything other than a pretty, pretty princess." Tony said, and pointed at her with the bottle of scotch still in hand. Natasha grinned. If Stark was still making snarky comments, he was okay.

"Oh, then I'm one too." Steve said eagerly. Everyone else stared at him gape mouthed. "What? I haven't been awake as long as you and I look good in spangles." He grinned around a bite of pastrami on rye.

"Oh, me three then. Princess all the way. Bring me ball gown and a pumpkin. I could dance." Audrey mumbled into the tile. Tony brightened at that.

"Hey Auds, welcome back to the land of the sentient beings." Tony said. Audrey tentatively moved her arm to look at her hand. She was met with the sight of a blue-green furry arm, longer and more muscled than she remembered it being.

"Well there goes my ink." She said. "How bad, Tony?" She said, closing her eyes and trying to deny the existence of light as a concept. Her head was pounding, and she knew that was because her skull was differently shaped now. She could feel the new shape of her mouth, and it took concentrated effort to create words.

"It's..." Tony started, and then took a breath. "You are your father's daughter. Longer. Leaner. More feline than simian overall." He admitted.

"Figured as much." She said. "Think it's over?"

"I don't know. It'll be over when it's over. What some tea? I can text Bruce and tell him the roaring has quieted down. No wondering where the lions are in this tower, let me tell you."

"Sure... And, some soup maybe... I dunno. I... I can smell everything. Eating is going to be different now." She said.

"Oh yeah? And how do I smell after this long hanging out on the floor in a small space with you?" Tony asked.

"Like the fucking pretty, pretty princess you are." She said.

"Just for that I'm telling Bruce to bring Meow-Mix." Tony said.

"Die in a fire, Stark." She grumbled back. Mac had given up on food, and upon hearing Audrey speaking, was on his feet, sniffing at her. She reached up and dug the back of her knuckles into his fur. "Good boy. Such a very good boy through all this." She said. With supreme effort, she rolled on to her side, and Mac settled in next to her, sniffing her fur carefully, and licking here and there.

"I can see why you like her, Stark." Natasha said.

"She's like a non-violent version of you. It's sort of awesome. My balls don't try to retreat into my abdomen when I'm talking with her." Tony replied. The side of Natasha's mouth quirked up in a smile for a moment. "And I only say that as flattery. I know that's what you're going for. It's a good mystique. It sure as hell keeps me in line. Mostly because I'm more aerodynamic when they've receded... It worked for Lance Armstrong."

"Tony, if I have to hear one more thing about your scrotum while I'm eating, I am going to embed my shield in the back of your head." Steve said.

"Oh it's not that bad. I manscape within acceptable levels. It's only polite... Which also increases how aerodynamic I am... I'm streamlined. I'm a Leer jet." Tony said, and took a belt off the bottle of scotch. He then set it down in order to pull out his phone to get Bruce. Steve glared at Tony, and swallowed the bite of sandwich he had as a defiant act of consciously not picturing Tony's hairless balls.

"A pretty pink princess Leer jet?" Audrey asked from the floor.

"Pink with spangles." Steve said and grinned at her.

"And on that note, I will now do absolutely anything to get away from this conversation before Tony tries to make it a reality. You mind if I take Mac out for a walk, Audrey?" Clint asked.

"Please." She said. Slowly, oh so slowly, Audrey sat up. She looked like every inch of her was in agony. She was trembling and her muscles went into spasm here and there. Mac nudged her and she carefully ran her hands over him. "Good boy." She said again, and he was gentle as he licked her cheek. She looked up at Thor and Natasha in the doorway. "Hi." She said.

"Very pleased to make your acquaintance." Thor said in a gentle tone. He held out his hand, and Audrey made motion to shake it, when Thor took her hand and kissed the back of it, bowing low.

"Nice to meet you too. Chivalry... Cool." She said.

"He's foreign." Tony explained.

"I gathered that." Audrey replied. Mac took his cue from Audrey and tentatively sniffed at Thor.

"Hello there, fine fellow. Rare to see a Midgardian hound so large." He said, and let Mac sniff his hand.

"This is Mac. He's pretty friendly unless he doesn't like what's happening to me and there's no one else around to trust." She said, already weary from the effort of sitting up. Clint shimmied in, holding Mac's leash. Mac looked hopefully at Audrey, who nodded to Clint. "Go on. I'll be here when your get back." She said. Then she gave in and wrapped her arms around him in a full on hug. Mac squirmed to get closer and mouthed at her sweatshirt. Her appearance meant nothing to him, and that helped a lot. "Go on, be a good boy... And don't you dare not pick up after him, Clint." Audrey said.

"Hey, I've had a dog, alright? I know what I'm doing." Clint said.

"I know you do. And I can't thank you enough for thinking to look after him." Audrey said. Clint paused as he met Audrey's changed eyes. She hadn't seen them yet, so Clint sure as shit wasn't going to make an issue of them. Not that he cared. What he was uncomfortable with was praise. He wasn't used to people directly praising him for anything. Especially his thoughtfulness.

"Your mutt's got good taste in people. Except for Tony of course." Clint said with a grin, and stood up. "Come on, Thor. We're going for walkies and a beer run. You're coming with me."

Clint and Thor left, Bruce arrived, and then he and Natasha settled on the bathroom floor. Audrey was up against the wall, bravely looking herself over now and again, but avoided the mirror and reflective surfaces. Bruce set Audrey up with a mug of tea and a simple broth soup. It took some effort, but eventually she mastered bringing the spoon to her mouth in her unfamiliar body. Nobody said anything about it, and let her take her time, which she was grateful for.

"I'm Natasha. It's nice to meet you. Clint has been telling me about you. He really likes Mac." Natasha said carefully.

"Everyone likes Mac. He's an insatiable flirt. Especially if you have oatmeal cookies." Audrey said. "And it's nice to meet you too."

"I'd ask how you were feeling, but I think I Tony would attempt to chew my face off." Natasha said.

"And I would fail spectacularly. But I would still try. Even at the expense of my dental work. What can I say? I like her." Tony agreed. Audrey's face pulled back in a grin, and she knew she exposing teeth that would make it look more like a threat than a smile. She would have to be careful of that from now on.

"Thank you for defending my honour." Audrey said. She delicately tried for the mug, and managed it.

"I am a gentleman." Tony said.

"If you're a gentleman, then I'm a pretty, pretty princess, Stark." Natasha said. Audrey grinned. "Clint was fairly quiet on where you're from in your dimension. Bruce mentioned something about a farm though." She was trying to gather information, because by all accounts, no one here had vetted her properly yet.

"Yeah, what part of Canada are you from?" Steve asked. All eyes looked at him.

"How did you get that out of her? She's been asleep or screaming most of the time. I at least had her birth records and social media accounts." Tony said.

"She said her grandfather was in the forces that liberated Bergen-Belsen. That happened a few days before... Just before I went into the ice... It was the British and Canadians who did it. She doesn't have a British accent, so I'm assuming that you'll have to rethink your position on free-range murder of Canadian citizens, Tony. The other option was that her British citizen grandparents moved here after the war, but I'm not sure about that judging by her accent... McCoy is kind of a hippie. I wouldn't put it past him to place Audrey in a country with socialized medicine." Steve said.

"Guelph, Ontario." Audrey said.

"And they have a large animal veterinary and agricultural program at the university there. I did a few guest lectures there once. Oh, that makes so much sense." Bruce said.

"I flunked out. I don't... do... school." Audrey admitted. "So I moved closer to Lake Huron to catch tourist traffic in the summer."

"Holy shit, Sherlock Holmes. I'm jealous. I'm actually jealous." Tony said to Steve, and offered him the bottle of scotch. Steve shrugged, and took the bottle and a healthy belt of his own from it. It was rare that he got one over on Tony in the logic department, so he figured it was reason enough to celebrate.

"Okay lovely people, I gotta pee. Out please." Audrey said.

"I'll stay." Natasha said.

"Shy bladder." Audrey replied and looked meaningfully at the mirror. "I'll just be a minute."

"I don't think you should do that. Alone. Just yet." Bruce said carefully.

"Too bad. Have to. Sooner rather than later." Audrey replied.

"She's right." Tony said, and started slowly getting to his feet. Steve beat him there and offered Tony a hand. "You get three minutes." Audrey nodded in agreement, and they left her and Steve closed the door gently. Audrey used the counter, put her furry hand with its clawed fingers on it, and hauled herself up. It was easier than she thought it was going to be, but it hurt like hell. She looked at the reflection of her hands first. She was getting sort of used to that. Sort of. She took a deep breath, and then looked up, full at her face in the mirror. She didn't bring her hand up to hide her reflection, nor did she try to destroy the mirror.

"Lion." She said softly, now surprised at how easily her mouth and throat made the word. She wasn't expecting such a normal sounding voice out of this face. "Fuck." She said. Blue. So blue. The fur was the colour of a tropical ocean. Her eyes were green. Also leonine. The teeth were the worst. There were fangs in her mouth now, and some remote part of her was simultaneously worried and was laughing hysterically at the idea of dental checkups now. She sighed, and her eyes drifted down. She had two minutes now to relieve her bladder, because she knew that Tony would be back in here whether she was finished or not. She did so, and was glad that the fur was much shorter on her hands when she washed them. There were leathery pads on her fingertips and palms.

She was still wearing the sweats from before, though a fresh set. She didn't want to think about them changing her into them while she was out of it. She knew that the fur covered her. She could feel the clothing pulling at it gently. Her face was bad enough. She didn't want to think about the rest of her for now. Not that Tony would probably give her any option. That was probably for the best though. There was no denying or hiding from this.

Right on cue, Tony tapped on the door twice and walked in. He found her staring at her reflection and leaning heavily on the counter. "Hey." He said quietly and stood beside her. He met her eyes via the mirror's refection. She'd bent at the waist to lean her weight on the counter, and he eyes were at the same level as the arc reactor on Tony's chest.

"Hey." She replied.

"Want to move the bullshit pity party to the bed? I installed one of those mattresses that heats and cools. I figured you're probably going to be a lot warmer than you used to be."

"I'm not even allowed five minutes of self-revulsion?" She asked.

"Fuck no. You're a mutant. Not a monster. There is nothing to revile. It's just your biology... And when you're feeling less like ten pounds of shit in a five pound bag, you're going to discover some cool things about yourself."

"And then start the countdown until Rule 34 kicks in." She said. Tony laughed quietly.

"Oh god, and you've hanging around with me and Steve... The slash fic writers are going to love and or hate that, depending on their tolerance for furry." Tony teased.

"Sorry Tony, I don't think it was meant to be. Sex with you would probably be all geometry, physics, and quotes from heist movies. I think my brain would melt." She said. Tony gaped at her, then shrugged.

"You're not far off the mark there. But only the really good heist movies." He said and she laughed. "Come on. Coulson liberated some more of that Malbec from my stash. The thief."

"I'm already fucked up on enough pot to drop a moose."

"And you're still freaking out. Clearly, it's not doing enough to kill your bad feelings. You need to relax, and you need to feel normal. Social interaction is going to help with that." Tony said. "Come on, the gang's all going to hang out for a bit until you can sleep again. You'd be a shitty host if you hid in here all night." Tony held out his hand. Audrey sighed and stood up straight. She was a little embarrassed that she was taller than Tony now, but ignored it.

"If anybody makes an Avatar joke, I am going to figure out how to use these teeth." She said.

"If anybody makes an Avatar joke, I am going to mock them for watching that piece of shit movie." Tony replied. "While you're using your teeth." Audrey grinned and took his hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the little jab at we fic writers. I kid. I kid... But it was there, and you know Tony would know all about it. BTW, I totally ship STony... We'll see if that happens here.


	5. Hit the Ground Running

"I think I'd like to meet my mother." Audrey said two days later. She could now move around comfortably, had been fitted out with clothes she could grow into, and was eating like a horse as she was still gaining muscle mass. "She's living, right?"

"Yes, she is. But that's... It's a bad idea." Tony said. "For now, anyway."

"But she's my mother."

"Who didn't actually give birth to you... She's also scary beyond all reason. And she has guns. Space guns." Tony said.

"You think she'd shoot me?" Audrey asked, careful about how narrow she made her eyes. Her face went from neutral to threat in the barest of movements now. Tony, for his part, didn't seem that perturbed by it.

"She'd shoot anybody if she had a logical reason to... Or you know, if you annoyed her mildly. Ever. For any reason... I'll be straight with you, I'm pretty sure she wants to shoot me, so I'm biased. And her wanting to shoot me is fine, whatever, but when a man is not allowed to leave the coffee pot empty in the office that he runs, without threat of a space laser being shot up his ass, there are bigger problems afoot. Why do we even pay support staff if I have to make my own fucking coffee?" Tony muttered. They were in Tony's workshop, and Audrey was taking up the stool that Steve did when he was down there attempting to socialize Tony. Mac was belly up on Tony's couch, snoring.

"Tony, focus." Audrey said. She'd picked up on that pretty quickly too. Tony blamed Steve... And everyone around him for letting her in on that little secret. Tony sighed, and looked up from his work and met Audrey's gaze.

"Your mother is... I've never met anyone that fits the Meyers-Briggs INTJ personality type so well. She's not a psychopath. She understands feelings, has feelings, but she's so logical about them it's hard to get used to. She will have an amazingly good reason for doing what she did to you, and frankly, I'm probably trying to shelter you from that. I have no right. I know that... But she will appear to be cold and indifferent. She is not. Hank McCoy wouldn't let himself get wrapped up in someone like that... But she will tell the truth to the point of it causing pain to others, even if it causes pain to herself. She doesn't know how else to be. I wanted to protect you from that. Hank is... warmer. He's more likely to have a positive reaction to meeting you." Tony said. Audrey nodded.

"Speaking of which, we should probably start looking for him soon. I'm feeling better today." She said. Tony grinned. She liked to have a purpose. He could relate to that very well.

"I'll start putting out feelers. But let's give you a week to settle in." Tony said. Audrey nodded amiably enough.

"Okay, in the meantime though, I have to ask... How much time has passed back home? How long have I been missing?" She asked quietly. Tony swallowed hard and ran the math in his head.

"Probably about a month." He spat out. He wouldn't lie to her. Even if it made him no better than Abigail Brand.

"Ah." She said, and hunched over the workbench. "I should... go." She got to her feet.

"Please don't." Tony said too quickly. "I'm in communication with Richards. He's working on being able to get a message back there if you want. Reading what's already there is easier than sending information through. We're working on it. I promise. I knew you were going to start asking, I just didn't think it would be this soon."

"And would you have brought it up if I never did?" Audrey asked.

"No, I would have. Steve would have made me, but I'd like to think I would have gotten to it on my own when it was ready. I just want it to work right the first time... Look, I had a shitty family life to start. I'm not used to the idea of having open, loving, communication with my family and having it be an essential part of my health and happiness. Especially since I've been on my own since I was seventeen." Tony said.

"Was your life really that shitty?" She asked. Her words were nothing but genuine. Tony was surprised by the compassion. If Audrey had one thing in common with Abigail Brand, it was the ability to see logically past her own emotions. But she'd taken it a different route. She was ever aware of the other, as opposed to her end goal, and that was remarkable to Tony.

"If it weren't for Jarvis, the human one, I don't know where I'd be. I barely remember what my mother looked like, outside of what photographs show me. My father... I will not get into that right now, because this conversation is not about me... I'm still pretty screwed up. But I do better now. Sometimes." Tony said.

"It's a good thing you're not asking me to do what you, Steve, and the rest do. I don't think I had enough childhood trauma to be able to pull it off." Audrey said.

"Stick with me, Auds. I have enough for both of us." Tony said, and gave a small smile. "Look, I know bringing you here was insane, selfish, and cruel. I'm... I'm sorry for that. I want you to know that. I would probably do it again, even if I were willing to break the space-time continuum to try to prevent myself from doing it."

"From what you say, it was already broken. If you think about it, Hank and Abigail sending me away might have been part of what broke it. It might have made Hank bolder, more willing to attempt what he did with the original X-Men." Audrey said. She settled her weight back on the stool, and absently looked at her hands. "I'm a lot more like my mother than you realize, Tony. You speak of her, and there are parts of me that hate it, because I think I already understand her too well. But I also have a part of me that wants to meet her anyway. I need to hear it from her. If she has a good reason, I don't have to like it, but I do want to know what it is."

"I think that's fair. I will do everything I can to accommodate that... But only when I know that you will come out that meeting unscathed. Physically or mentally... You want to see what Reed and I are trying to pull off? You know I have to like you, and want to do the best I can for you if I am willingly in contact with him, right?"

"That was in the comics." Audrey said. "So, what are you doing?" Tony smiled and held up a phone that was a few steps beyond anything she'd left behind.

"Seen one of these yet?" He asked.

"Starkphone. Steve's is like that."

"This is the industrial model. It's designed to withstand a lot of crap. Including the augmented strength of super humans. It's not perfect, but it's a lot more rugged than your average phone. Cool thing about the better casing is that there is more room to hold more information, and it can do more things. We're hoping it can be made to be compatible with your world's tech, and a trans-dimensional portal so that you can at least email or text... It will still be pretty horrible for the people you've left behind, but they would be able to know you're out there. For now, it's the best I've got, but I will keep at it. Then you will have to decide."

"Decide what?"

"How much pain you're willing to put them through... I've come back from the dead before. And while it usually turns out okay, some people don't take it as well as others. I would have to imagine in a world where there are no super humans that people tend to stay dead. You coming back but not being able to be with them all the time will hurt them... And I'm sorry for the pain it will cause you. But again, I am not sorry for what I did." Tony said. Audrey contemplated that quietly. The silence stretched out, which made Tony uncomfortable. She hadn't been silent yet to him, and it worried him deeply. "Are... Are we okay?" He asked.

"Probably? I don't know. I'm mad. I'm furious at this situation. But there is fuck all I can do to change it, and I'm kind of dependent on you as a lifeline here." She said.

"I could get Sue Richards to come pick you up in the Fantasticar." Tony said, hoping she would default back to her sarcasm as a coping method. He could deal with sarcasm.

"Shut the fuck up about me leaving before I kick your ass so hard it'll look like you're wearing bad 80's shoulder pads. I wouldn't get in that death trap if you paid me. And if you recall, I wasn't exactly on good terms with Reed when we left. Now I have a mouth full of predator dentition and claws. I can't see that ending well." She said. Tony made the motion of zipping his mouth closed. "As I said, I am royally angry at what's going on. I am justified in that anger. You've even said so yourself. But since I am not willing to deal with anyone else currently, I'm dependent on you, Steve, and the rest. I like them. I like you. But I am fucking pissed off, and so horribly worried about the people I left behind... I'll get through it. But it's been less than five business days. I've had a lot to process." She said.

"Can I say something now?" Tony asked.

"Yes, I have decided against murdering you for now. Maiming remains an option." She replied. Tony smiled at her. It wasn't a know-it-all smirk. He was hopeful, and she could deal with that so long as he was genuine about it.

"I wasn't quite sure what to do with you when you got here. I have a tendency to wing things. I sort of expected you to mentally collapse, and then, in the interest of total honesty, I would have left you with Richards and Sue. Sue is good at relating with people. But you didn't collapse. You stood up and cracked a joke, and made yourself into a survivor. I can't tell you how important a life skill that is here, especially as a mutant. In the tower, things are pretty sheltered. But out there, now, you're going to have some issues. Some try to hide away. Others own it. I think you can be the kind to own it. Hank did, or at least made a good show of it for a long time, and he's hardly the worst done by these days. Others don't have it nearly so nice. There's a kid that went to school with Broo, and the others were calling him Glob Herman. It's not just a clever name."

"I appreciate the support, but I'm still pissed off." She said.

"That's fine. I can understand that. I can deal with that. Just, know that I have enough intelligence to figure out pretty quickly what kind of potential people can have. You have potential, and you care. Caring is sort of a foreign language to me. I'm getting better at it as time goes on, but I'm not fluent yet. The team helps me a lot in that regard. Their conditioning of me to be a better human is what made me not leave you with Richards. He would have just seen you as a science experiment and a means to an end. At first I thought that way, but then you turned out to be... a really good, decent, person. And I want to simultaneously foster that in you, and learn from it."

"You're a weird guy, Tony." She said, and shook her head slowly.

"I'm not used to people like you. You're someone whose default setting isn't what they can get out of a situation. But I'm kind of in love with it. I hope you can forgive me for what I've done."

"I'll work on it." She said.

"Great... Here, now check out the OS on this phone. You'll die. This has a direct link to JARVIS on it. Never intended for commercial use of course, but he's handy, especially when you don't know quite where you are. Suck it Siri."

"Siri can teabag your manscaped scrotum?"

"Yes, now that you mention it. But the interface would probably insist I say it like nine million times before it understood what I asked of it." Tony said.

"So, is linking up to JARVIS something else also developed for the guy seventy years behind the times?" Audrey asked.

"You don't want JARVIS on your phone?"

"Didn't say that." She said quickly. "Not at all." Tony grinned and waved her over to see what he'd been up to.

 

The next morning Audrey woke up at her regular time. She looked around for Mac, but found a note from Clint and a missing leash saying that he had taken him on his morning walk. She smiled and thought warm things about Clint and his obvious adoration of Mac, which she shared. She sat up, and felt good. Very good. JARVIS greeted her warmly, and informed her of the time and local weather. "Thanks, JARVIS... I have a question."

"By all means, Ms. Whelan." JARVIS said politely.

"What is the social environment here like for mutants who are obvious? Can I go outside and not worry about my safety?" She asked.

"The area around the tower is quite safe. Most New Yorkers are quite accustomed to the presence of mutants and super humans. But I cannot account for the average person. I do not know whom you'll meet when you go out. Harassment of mutants can be common, or it can be rare."

"Just depends on the day's headlines." She said, a bit resigned. "I've got a bit of cabin fever." She admitted.

"If I may make a suggestion, Ms. Whelan?" JARVIS asked.

"Suggest away. Because I still can't get over how cool you are."

"Thank you, Ms. Whelan. My suggestion is that Captain Rogers usually takes a long run three times a week. He will be leaving for it soon. Would you like me to ask him if he wouldn't mind accompanying you?"

"A run. Yes. Perfect. You're a genius, JARVIS." She said, and got out of bed. Tony had ordered up clothing for her that would be appropriate for a work out and she went for it. Steve was waiting in the kitchen.

"You going to be alright in bare feet? I go pretty hard." He said, looking at the claws on her toes.

"Check it out. The soles of my feet are like the bottom of an army boot. I... I gotta move, Steve. It's driving me nuts in here." She said, a little twitchy.

"Okay then." Steve said, and he understood.

He started out at a steady pace, keeping a close eye on her. She was right. The pavement didn't bother her feet, and she kept stride with him easily. They got looks, but Steve was used to looks. He just kept them moving forward, and brought his speed up gradually. She met him stride for stride, her breathing deep and easy. Audrey grinned and blinked in the wind gusting over her. The freedom of movement brought a peace of mind she hadn't known here yet. Because this wasn't jogging, this was running. And it was awesome. She followed Steve and they ended up at Central Park. They moved so fast that not many people had time to give them a second glance, and since Steve didn't seem to be following a set route, no one who was stationary saw them twice.

It was a great way to learn her way around, and Steve seemed to be taking her past all the major sights, though he didn't say anything. He was just happy that she could keep up. Thor was really the only one who could routinely keep up with Steve, and he wasn't much for running. He simply didn't need to, so he didn't do it. Steve was happy to have someone around who he could share this with.

When they were finally headed back to the tower and the bright portal opened up close to Strawberry Fields, Steve took it in stride. This was his life. But he knew it wasn't Audrey's. She was sensible though. She stayed close to, but behind Steve. A quick glance back showed that she was still only breathing as heavily as he was, so she wasn't completely exhausted. Steve didn't hesitate. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone and summoned the Avengers.

"What do you got, running man?" Tony asked over the speaker phone. Steve squinted into the light, which was starting to dissipate.

"Cyclops, Emma Frost, Magik, and Magneto. Audrey's with me. Strawberry Fields." He said quietly.

"Be there in three."

"Be here now." Steve said.

"Working on it." Tony said. He was obviously running, and there was an alarm in the background. "You want me to bring the spangles?"

"No time. My shield would be nice though."

"Hello, Audrey." Said the woman with the perfect, ash blonde hair. "You have a choice to make."

"Choice? What choice? I have had a severe lack of choices lately." Audrey replied.

"Then you are about to have one. I'm Emma. This is Cyclops, Magneto, and Magik. As a newly emerged mutant, we would like to offer you a chance to learn about what you have become." Emma said. Audrey could feel something in her mind, and it was cold and hard and worrisome.

"Are you... in my head? Get the fuck out." Audrey said defiantly and glared at Emma.

"Take it easy, Audrey. She's not to be messed with." Steve warned. Audrey narrowed her eyes, as was her way now when she was making an intuitive leap.

"Confronting me while I'm out for a run in the park, saying I must make a choice, doesn't seem like any kind of choice at all. How about you shoot me an email, and we'll further discuss your ideas. Until then, I just want to finish my run and grab a shower." Audrey said. The cold spikes in her mind started to recede, but she knew Emma wasn't gone completely. Frustration crossed Emma's face.

"You haven't been influenced by them. Why would you choose to stay with them?" Emma asked. Audrey could tell Emma wanted to go further into her mind, but some moral sense was keeping her back now that she'd been told to stay out. It was a disturbing pattern though. She'd gone in and tried to make herself comfortable until Audrey had said otherwise.

"Uh, because I don't know you. Why would I trust you?" Audrey asked.

"Because we are your best hope in this world." Cyclops said. "The Avengers end up keeping mutants like pets. They do not think we're equals."

"Well, I'm not an Avenger. I'm not much of anything at the moment. Not being self-deprecating. I've just had a weird week. It's a work in progress." Audrey said, glad she'd remained behind Steve. Banter wasn't going to win her any favours it seemed. Cyclops' mouth and jaw set tightly on his face.

"They should be cowering before you." Cyclops said. That legitimately got a negative reaction out of Audrey. Her teeth bared and she growled low in her throat.

"No one should cower before anything or anyone." She said over the growl. Steve had to admit it was a pretty neat trick. He could hear the whine of Tony's repulsors, and was relieved. Thor would be right there along with him. Backup. Backup was good.

"So, do you have two sets of vocal chords?" Steve asked, stalling for time.

"Cats have a weird larynx and hyoid that can vibrate with a signal from the brain during exhalation, while making other vocalizations." Audrey said, and the growl stopped. "Little cats can purr because they can do this while inhaling too. Big cats can only do this on exhalation, but since they have a bigger larynx, it means they can roar."

"Cool." Steve said with a nod. "You should think about going back to be a vet."

"Maybe not today though." Audrey said.

"It's not even noon yet. There's time to at least think it over later." Steve reasoned. He was trying to keep her relaxed, and she appreciated the effort.

"If you chose to not take a side, no one will protect you. You will be a traitor to your race." Cyclops said. Audrey started growling again.

"I don't know you. And frankly, you're creeping me the fuck out. Choose a side with no background on the issue. Who does that? Traitor to a race of people, simply because I don't know what the hell is going on here? I can't be a traitor as an act of omission, all right? Seeing something like that as a sin will run you over dangerous ground, morally speaking. And the way that your backup there is letting you spout that kind of crap? I'm getting vague whiffs of something possibly evil, and definitely totalitarian. Also, stranger danger Dear Leader." Audrey said. The repulsors roared, and Tony landed about a second before Thor did in front of Audrey. Tony would have said something witty, but he was too busy laughing at Scott being called Dear Leader, and tossing Steve his shield.

"You will end up regretting this decision. The world is a cruel place to mutants. Even those who are friends with the Avengers, and especially those who turn their back on their own kind." Scott said.

"I didn't say I was rejecting mutant kind. I said I was freaked out by your attitude that people, anybody, should bow down to anything." Audrey said. "Now, stand there a minute and hear a differing opinion like a big boy. You show up to a kid who's full of hormones and terror, and tell them that they've been dragged into a conflict they know nothing about. Think about presenting that to an adult, and not a scared kid, and see how far that gets you. If so many people hadn't died already, I would be perplexed that more people aren't laughing at you. You're hauling kids, babies, into a conflict that they didn't start, hell, that _you_ didn't even start... An ongoing... philosophical lovers' dispute?" Audrey looked at Magneto meaningfully. "Yeah, has to be lovers judging by that cape. A fight between a man traumatized at Auschwitz, and a now deceased, bald hippie with severe control issues, is not a reason for me to choose a side in a war. This conflict needs everyone to go conscientious objector so you're forced to sit down and talk about this, or just stay the fuck away from each other."

"Oh god. That was hot. Talk morals to me, baby. You know how I like it." Tony said. "Christ, this armor wasn't made to leave extra room down there. This is going to be uncomfortable."

"For the last time, Tony, no one is interested in your genitals. Especially at the moment." Steve barked.

"Well maybe not now, but I was young and beautiful once. I can still dream... You know, you talk a lot about me not being allowed to talk about my genitals." Tony said carelessly.

"Enough." Steve said firmly.

"And you thought your X-Kids were hard to keep in line. Pity Rogers, Scott. Pity him hard." Tony said.

"Your butt's still cute... In the armor." Clint teased from a distance. He and Natasha were close, gaining ground, and armed to the teeth.

"Clint, what did I say about encouraging him?" Steve asked.

"Okay, back on track." Audrey said. "I am not going with you. I got a mind that is like herding cats, all right? Nobody would sell me on an idea that quickly. I spend more time deciding to buy orange juice with or without pulp... I've been treated very well so far given the circumstances, so I'm going to stick with 'very well' over whatever the hell Kool-Aid it is you're offering." Audrey shifted her weight back to her heels and put her shoulders back. She wasn't about to step in front of Steve, Tony, and Thor. That was stupid, and she wasn't stupid. She was relieved when Natasha and Clint ran up behind her. Suddenly Audrey felt quite safe and took a deep breath.

"Fuck it, I'm leveling with them. They'll find out soon enough. I'm not from this dimension. I wasn't exactly brought here, so much as brought back here. I was supposed to be here all along. I don't know whom to trust. So far, Tony's been very kind to me, and that's all I know about this place. But I can tell you that I have enough collected smarts to be wary of what very much appears at first glance to be a totalitarian regime. I will not buy into your cult of lack of personality until I know more. No wonder Hank thinks you're all insane."

"How do you know Beast?" Magneto asked.

"I don't. I only know of him. And that's because of the obvious mark he left on half of my chromosomes... Tony, can we go now? They're giving me the creeps. It's like Kim Jong Il's inner circle with a better workout regimen and none of the laughs." Audrey's revelation left Scott, Emma, and Erik in stunned silence.

"Wait, what is this about dimension hopping?" Magik asked.

"I am so not getting into that with you." Tony muttered. "So, Scott, do you want to get out of here now, or should we start calling up all those people who think you're a terrorist?"

"I am not a terrorist. I am only defending my people. People that have been the subject of multiple attempts at genocide."

"And how many innocent people have died because of your moral convictions? On both sides. How many mutants have died at your order? Why should we trust you of all people to look after mutant rights? If you want to help an endangered species, stop making them endanger themselves." Tony spat out and started stepping forward. He had little to fear from Scott, but Magneto was a different story, and that was the only thing that kept him from getting right up in Scott's face.

"You're going to come down on me for casualties? How hypocritical are you, Stark?" Cyclops said. He was eerily calm.

"And I was wrong, Scott. So, fucking, wrong. Since I don't have superpowers and righteous indignation to fall back on, I had to change the way I did things." Tony said. Cyclops sneered a little at that.

"You and your privilege. You have no idea, Stark." He said.

"No, I don't. But when someone isn't even willing to admit the possibility that they might be wrong, that is not a good thing. How many times have you fought against people who thought that way? How may times have you fought against him for that very reason?" Tony asked and pointed to Magneto.

"Iron Man, stand down." Steve said in a lower, louder register than Audrey was used to hearing from him. His posture had changed, and despite his wardrobe, suddenly a field commander was standing where her running buddy had been. "Tony, stop." Steve said in a softer voice, and that got through. Tony held his ground, but stopped his forming tirade. "Now, Scott, are we done here? You asked, she said no. I think we're done. Unless you want to prove her right on that whole totalitarian thing."

Scott's field garb covered more of his face than it used to. He was hard to read, but he always had been. The mutant rebel looked like he was trying to physically force himself from not taking the fight to Tony, and that he was angry that they were there at all. "All right, but if you think you will be able to keep Hank McCoy out of this, you're asking for whatever you get." Cyclops said.

"I'm counting on that, actually." Tony said sharply.

"Iron Man, stand down." Steve said again. This time there was no question that if the order wasn't obeyed, there would be consequences. Tony visibly relaxed his posture, and the repulsors' hum wound down. "Scott, I am legally required to take you into custody, so if you want to avoid that, I suggest you be gone before I walk over there."

"You know what we could do to you, right? You know how easily we could decimate you." Cyclops said.

"Banner is a hundred yards behind you. I am about to start walking toward you with the intent to take you into custody. Make your choice." Steve said. He casually looked over their shoulders and gave a nod to Bruce, who was making his way up the path. Cyclops gave Steve a long glare, his entire body radiating his anger. Steve started walking, and Magik suddenly opened a portal and dragged the rogue mutants through.

Tony immediately turned back towards Steve, Audrey and the rest. "Are you alright?" He asked Audrey.

"Fine." She said with a breathless nod. "Well, physically, yes, fine. Kinda freaked out, but that could have been a lot worse."

"Yeah, and your big mouth was not helping you." Steve said.

"Stalling for time. You did it too." She retorted, and Steve paused and his mouth quirked in a little bit of a smile.

"Yeah, I did, but you can't play with people like them. If you're okay with it, we need to teach you some defense techniques. Sparring sessions, a few times a week I think." Steve said.

"It's her choice." Tony said firmly. "I didn't bring her here for that."

"It's not a bad idea." Audrey admitted. She took a breath and walked over to the now deserted mosaic in the path. There were offerings of flower petals surrounding the word IMAGINE that was inlaid in the path. "Even if I would prefer there to be nothing to kill or die for... And fuck it, no religion too. Religion is usually a bad idea." She muttered to herself. Tony walked over to her, and the faceplate of the armor pulled up to reveal his face. "If you say you're sorry, Tony, I'll punch you in that soft spot you just made." She said. "You are not responsible for what just happened."

"I... Thanks?" Tony said.

"Tony, I'm pissed at you. I'm pissed at what's happened... But that guy fucking terrifies me. Not even Logan was that scary. He's... dangerous. Logan would end anything quickly. Scott will make people suffer and think he's the better person for it... So, sparring sessions with Captain America? Probably not a bad idea at this point." She said.

"Okay." Tony said. "Hey, you wanna see something cool?" She turned and met his eyes.

"Sure." She said. He hadn't disappointed her yet every time he'd said that.

"Great. Hang on." The faceplate came down. Tony put his arm around her waist, and wedged the toe of the armor under her foot. They were airborne in moments, and Audrey let out a stream of curses. "Keep your panties clean, Auds. This won't take long."

"You are so fucking lucky I have good cardio-vascular health!" She shouted into the wind.

"I am... But if you want to see the cool thing, you need to open your eyes." Tony said calmly. Audrey did, her eyes squinting into the wind.

"Oh, oh wow." She said and opened her eyes further. All of Manhattan was laid out before them. The windows or high rises glittered in mid-morning light. "This is one way to cool out after a run."

"Seriously, are you okay? I just wanted to ask you where you didn't feel like you had to put up a front for anybody else."

"Yeah, I am. Until shit went down, it felt so good to move like that." She said.

"You are definitely Hank's kid. Com'on, let's go get some breakfast."

After Audrey watched with rapt fascination how the armor came apart, breakfast was had while Dr. Kavita Rao, Kitty Pryde, and Logan shouted at them over a video link. The encounter was already all over the news. Audrey remained off to the side, but remained quite vocal about her own right to choose where she wanted to be, thanks very much. Her parentage should have nothing to do with where she was living in her opinion. She was slightly irritated. Feeling the need for a shower and some down time away from everyone. Logan was much less scary when he wasn't within arm's reach, and Audrey talked him down quietly. When it slipped that Audrey was Canadian, Logan leaned closer to the monitor. "Favourite NHL team and brewery. Now." He demanded.

"Vive Les Habitants... And Moosehead." Audrey replied. Wolverine grinned, and sat back. Audrey felt assured that she'd passed a test of some kind.

"The Habs? Really? And you're from Ontario? Dangerous. Very dangerous. However, I like independent thinkers."

"Oh god, you're an Oilers fan, aren't you? They're not even original six." She said, and narrowed her eyes at him. Logan gave her a grin that said he wasn't going to say anything.

"Fucking immigrants." Tony muttered. "Goddamn Canadians, it's like a language all its own." Audrey just gave him a sidelong glance and chuckled.

"You are so full of shit, Tony." She said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Behold, the glimmering of a wild plot appears... I am also wondering if Tony's balls should be added to the character's list. I may be a little sorry for that. But not enough to do anything about it.


	6. Stay in my Rectangle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no beta. All mistakes are mine.

Audrey finally got her shower, and would never admit to anyone that shaking her herself dry was the most efficient way to get rid of most of the water. Her body took over that action easily, but it was something she wasn't going to advertise. It was too animalistic for her at the moment. She dressed in breathable clothing that would allow her fur to dry, and took a moment to calm down. The morning had been intense and she needed to quiet her mind.

"Excuse me, JARVIS?" She asked as she looked at the bed, but not wanting to sit down while she was still damp.

"What can I do for you, Ms. Whelan?" JARVIS replied.

"Steve said that there was an art studio somewhere in the building. He said I could use it. Would you show me where it is please?"

"It would be my pleasure Ms. Whelan." JARVIS said. "Please exit your room, turn left, and follow the overhead pot lights." Audrey smiled to herself, pleased that she'd thought of this.

"Come on, Mac. Exploring time." She said and the dog roused himself from the bed and stretched.

Steve and Tony found her as the sun was setting when they realized no one had seen her all day. They paused at the door to the studio, and Steve held Tony back for a moment. Music was playing inside. For someone who'd been through what she had that week, the melody was surprisingly uplifting. Steve tapped on the door a couple of times and swung it open wide.

Audrey was at the drafting table, pencil in hand, and mind elsewhere. The board was filled with sketches that were held up on the edges with clips. It was lined with ideas, half-starts, and tests of technique. She'd clearly been determining what she could and couldn't do with her bulkier hands and claws. "Huh." Steve murmured.

"What?" Tony asked.

"I never realized how much we must look alike when we're concentrating like that." Steve said. Tony chuckled.

_So try to see through the eyes,_  
 _That have seen more goodbyes,_  
 _Stayed awake through the night._  
 _I know it's hard to believe,_  
 _Things aren't as harsh as they seem._  
 _Be brave and you'll see,_  
 _Just how big your heart can be._

The song wasn't blaring like Tony's selections. The volume was an acceptable level... And it was so unapologetically happy and sad at the same time that Steve couldn't help but like it. "Hey Audrey. Bruce is making a big dinner for all of us. Do you want to join, or do you have a groove going on?" Steve asked. Audrey looked up, and set the pencil down from the careful grip she had it in.

"Hey guys." She said a bit shyly. Steve paused to give Mac some love, and Tony approached the drafting table. "Dinner sounds good. Do I have time to take Mac out?"

"Sure." Steve said. Tony looked over Audrey's shoulder. He was carefully scrutinizing the images there. The lines were clean, and she'd been using coloured pencils for careful shading. But it was the non-traditional take on the Death Before Dishonour theme, with Steve's cowl over the skull that tipped him off. A similar image was just off to the left, using the Iron Man armor's helmet.

"Lake Huron. Tourist traffic in summer. Creative projects... Oh my god, you're a tattoo artist!" Tony reasoned. Audrey flinched a bit at the exclamation in her ear, and Tony immediately quieted his tone. "Cool. Who would have thought Hank would have a cool kid?"

"Caught me. And most tattoo artists are kind of quiet and nerdy. I don't know that I'll be able to continue that though." Audrey said, and flexed her hand.

"Oh, Oh!" He said, suddenly bouncing and vibrating with the excitement of a new idea. "Vintage tattoo art inspired Avengers merchandise. It would make a mint. Hey Audrey, do you want to make a mint? We get a lot of pop art stuff, which is minimalist and cool, but we could get a whole other market by going that way. I have all the licensing for logos and images, so you could just play, do whatever you wanted. Steve you too, you should get in on this too. It would be a great way to fund part of the team, we could donate a portion of the proceeds to the Maria Stark Foundation, and it would be nice to have all of that shit done in house... This is fantastic. I am so glad I worked that out." Tony said.

"Worked what out?" Audrey asked.

"A reason for you to stay... If you want to, I mean. For as long as you'd like." Tony said, suddenly shy. Audrey's face pulled in her version of a smile.

"I'll think about it." She said mildly. "So long as the Ed Hardy people don't sue you."

 

The next morning, she found Steve at her door. He was dressed in his workout gear again. "I thought we'd take Mac out, grab some breakfast, and go to the gym." He said casually.

"Okay." Audrey said with a nod. "I'm about to get my ass kicked by Captain America... That was nowhere near my bucket list."

"Well, you know, YOLO." Steve said with a shrug.

"YOLO is carpe diem for idiots." Audrey grumbled, and grabbed for Mac's leash.

"And people say I make antique references." They laughed about it all the way down to the street. Steve was careful, he took them out of a back door going into the tower, that was meant for access by the more recognizable residents of it. He'd seen some of the press yesterday about their incident, and would have to be wary. Pictures and video from the people in and around Strawberry Fields definitely had the public guessing over loyalties of various super humans. There were calls for Steve's head by conservative media for not apprehending Cyclops and Magneto. The team of lawyers that Tony had on call for Avengers related incidents, had released a statement saying that Cyclops hadn't been out to harm anyone directly, and that Captain America and the rest of the Avengers had just been trying to keep everyone safe by not engaging rogue mutants in a heavily populated area.

"So, why the side door?" Audrey asked.

"I know you saw part of the news last night, but there's a lot of speculation who the blue mutant with the uncanny resemblance to Hank McCoy is. It's not every mutant that gets the Avengers' heavy hitters called out on her behalf. So, we're going to take Mac up the alley, across the street, and into the park."

"Oh god, I'm not a meme yet, am I?" She asked.

"Not quite yet, but the videos have gone viral." Steve said, as they walked past trashcans and dumpsters. He looked oddly at ease here. The kid from Brooklyn knew how to behave in an alley, no matter how far out of time he was. "The speculation is ranging. The current rumours are that you're a clone of McCoy, that you and I are possibly romantically linked, that the Avengers are training you for a position on the team to try to make a statement about mutant rights, that Tony and I got a cat to keep us company in the penthouse "love nest", that I was actually apprehending you and Cyclops was trying to protect you, and so on."

"Well at least there's a constant other than Rule 34, the stupidity of the media." Audrey said.

"No argument there." Steve replied. He was keeping his pace controlled for the sake of Mac. If it had just been the two of them, he would have them running again, but Mac wasn't built for the same things they were. He was meant for sustained effort and bursts of energy, which was fine. Steve was used to slowing down for others, and it would be a good way for Audrey to learn the same. Steve would work out their excess energy in the gym. He bought them coffee and bagels and they went into the part at one of the smaller entrances. They were still getting looks from people, but Audrey remained mild about it. Steve noticed that Audrey was set at ease by the proximity of the trees. She breathed easier and spoke more quietly. She pointed out birds and the species of plants easily. Things that Steve didn't really bother looking at usually unless he was drawing them. He was a New Yorker. Birds were birds, trees were trees, and green stuff was green stuff.

"Can I ask you a personal question?" Audrey asked.

"Sure." Steve said.

"You and Tony... Are you?" She asked. There was no confusion on Steve's part about what she was getting at. He'd clearly been asked it before, but he was forming an answer, like it was something he'd always wanted to say, but had never been allowed to.

"He and I have been to war together, we've been at war with one other, we've saved each other's lives so many times, we've had moral differences that I thought we'd never get past, but he's the best friend I've had since I came out of the ice. In a battle, hell at the end of the world, there's no one else I would rather have with me. I say that honestly... I don't even have a word for it. It's closer than a brother, closer than a lover... When you're tied up romantically with someone, there are things you don't tell them, because you want to spare them pain, right? Tony and I don't have that. It's total honesty, because we respect each other too much to lie or spare the other's feelings. We know the other guy can handle it. It's also total trust. Even when we've physically fought... I know what his body will do, and he knows mine, so it's the hardest fight I've ever had. There's definitely an intimacy there. So is it love? Yeah. Does it lead to fun sexy times? No." Steve said, and sipped at his coffee.

"So you admit it might be fun." Audrey teased.

"Well the media reports of Tony's exploits have always been positive in that regard. So I can't guarantee I wouldn't have a good time." Steve said, and laughed. Audrey joined him.

"It's just you two seem so at ease around one another. I had to ask."

"It's okay, I get asked that a lot. Especially by the media. It's nice to have someone listen to the whole answer, and not just out for a sound bite."

Audrey pointed up to the sky. "Oh, red-tailed hawk... We have those at home too." She said, and let the subject drop. On their way out of the park, a little girl ran up to Steve, just too young to be in school yet.

"Cap!" She said brightly. Audrey hung back while Steve laid on the charm and made nice with the girl's dad.

"Sorry, the girl is superhero obsessed. I couldn't get her to play with a Barbie to save my life." Her dad said. Steve smiled.

"That sounds familiar." Audrey said softly, and patted Mac's head. The girl looked up at Audrey.

"Who're you? I haven't seen you on TV." She said.

"My name's Audrey. I don't do what Cap and the others do. I'm an artist." She said.

"Oh." The little girl said, as if finally making the connection that super human didn't necessarily mean hero, and like most kids, was entirely all right with that. "Can I pet your dog?"

"Sure. His name is Mac." She said. The guy questioned Cap a little on the events of yesterday, but Cap danced around the issue with grace. He knew that the media was devious enough to use a kid to wheedle answers out of him. He hated that he had to be on his guard that way, but he knew the necessity of it. So Steve focused on making the kid happy, and let the dad take a photo of the two of them together, which Audrey positioned herself behind the camera for.

"So, reporter using his kid to get answers out of you?" Audrey asked when they departed.

"Entirely possible. I sort of hope that it was a child actor at least. The idea of it feels kind of dirty to me."

"You're not wrong about that." She said.

"At least you're media savvy. I was clueless when I woke up. Tony was good for me that way. He knows how to deal with celebrity. So was Natasha, she knows how to get by unnoticed. Clint was great to catch up on pop culture with. Though Tony thinks Clint's idea of pop culture is tainted as a concept."

Steve was not so secretly amused, when after Audrey fed Mac, she walked him down to the boardroom, where Tony was seated to the left of Pepper, looking bored as hell and not nearly caffeinated enough yet. Audrey stuck a Post-It Note to Mac's wide collar, tucked a towel under the collar, and sent him into the room on his own. Mac, not knowing anyone else well enough gravitated to Tony. The board members looked up, but Steve and Audrey were already headed up to the gym. Tony took the note off the dog's collar. "Audrey says that you looking after me is your karmic punishment if Captain America kills her today. Please take me for walk and give me a snack by 2pm. JARVIS will remind you." Tony read quietly aloud. He met eyes with Pepper and raised his hands.

"No, this is NOT my fault. So not my fault. This has Steve written all over it." Tony said. Mac, panted up at Tony with happy eyes, and forming drool on his lips. It was just about to hit the leg of Tony's suit when he grabbed for the towel and intercepted it. Mac took this as a friendly advance and got closer to Tony. "Gah... Uck... So. Much. Drool." Tony said. "Ah, no. Off." He remembered Audrey's command to get Mac to stop whatever it was he was about to get into. He said it calmly but firmly. "And, what? Chill out? Take five? I sort of have a thing here." Mac tilted his head, trying to understand Tony's meaning. "Mac, sit." He said. To his surprise, Mac sat. He was quicker off the mark than Dummy. "Lay down." Tony said quietly. Mac lay down, making sad eyes up at Tony, waiting on further instruction. "Stay." Mac sighed, relaxed, and put his head down. "Well, check me out. Dog whisperer here." Tony grinned, and then returned his attention to the table. "Sorry about that. Kids today. So irresponsible."

 

Tony went up the gym at 3pm, and found Steve going through the motions of showing Audrey how to take someone down in a rear assault. He'd already adapted his teaching style for her. Like she did with Mac, he kept his voice, low and even, like they were both working toward a goal. Audrey was calm, though her breathing was a little more laboured than usual. Steve had clearly put her through the wringer today. But she responded well. Her movements were quick, and her control was getting better given her new physical strength. Tony recognized the Krav Maga techniques that Steve had imparted to Tony himself. Fight, fight hard, finish the fight, and then get the fuck out of there.

"The reason why I keep putting emphasis on escape is because of your lack of experience. You never know when there's another guy waiting to get his chance after you've taken the risk of engaging an enemy. But you've got a great advantage over the average combatant. You can run forever. So, until we get you further along, you run first. If they catch up, you hit as hard and as fast as you can, and then you start running again. It seems cowardly, but there is nothing cowardly about saving your own damn life."

"Point taken." Audrey said. Steve grinned.

"Now, you wanna show Tony that neat trick I taught you? The one I picked up from Natasha." Steve said. Audrey didn't even give him a chance to get into a defensive stance. She'd nailed him in the side with a closed fist, and as his body gave to the pressure, she stepped up on his thigh, grabbed his wrist and pulled it up with her, threw her other leg around his neck and they collapsed to the mat with Steve in a painful looking elbow lock on the ground. She held it with quiet ruthlessness until Steve tapped her calf twice with his somewhat free other hand, and she released.

"Now you're getting the idea." Steve said as he sat up. "She's like, Hank. Quick. Fast mover, fast learner. She's got an almost instinctual knowledge of primitive functional movement from her mutation I think. It's been a fun day." He said to Tony, who nodded at him. "The other thing, Audrey, which I know is going to sound a bit disgusting, is don't hesitate to use those claws of yours. If it's a fight for your life, blinding the other guy, even with a messy cut to the forehead, is going to go a long way for you being able to get away." She nodded at him, though didn't look very sure of that idea. She was still getting used to the idea of having claws, let alone using them to defend herself. That was evident by the relatively few scratches on his skin and clothing that Steve had. As if to prove her inherent gentleness, Audrey was getting kisses on the hand from Mac and smiling a bit.

"Did you have a good day?" She said in an indulgent voice to Mac.

"His poops... Oh god, thank fuck I brought Bruce with me. You need a Sherpa and a yak to scoop those things." Tony answered for the dog. Audrey smiled, and gave Mac's fur behind his ears a good scratch. "Nice trick leaving him with me when I couldn't protest or pass him off on someone else. Jerks. Though the board was quite impressed with him. Pepper too, which is like, unheard of. I didn't even swear at anyone for the whole meeting."

"Having a pet builds character and develops responsibility." Steve said. "And Clint is gone on an "errand" of some kind."

"I didn't know he was still doing that."

"He's liaising with the newly reformed SHIELD on a consultant and contract basis." Steve said. He got to his feet and offered Audrey a hand to get up, which she accepted. "So when did you break your ankle?" Steve asked. He'd noticed her favouring it, though gross motor function was fine.

"Few years back. Ice storm. Spiral fracture of the lower distal fibula. I spent eight weeks in the armpit of a Canadian winter with no weight bearing on it. They couldn't operate because it was in too many pieces to put in pins, and they just had to hope it would heal on its own. Because you know what makes having a busted ankle and having to get around on ice easier? Crutches. I nearly killed things. My poor family, having to deal with me. And slinging ink was a bitch. Because that was the year that everyone wanted those stupid silhouetted flying birds on weird spots, and I had to play pretzel with a cast on. Fucking hipster birds." Audrey said, and smiled fondly. It was getting a little easier to talk about the people she'd been taken from now, but not much. Audrey took a sniff of the air. "Okay, shower time."

"I don't smell much on you." Tony said. "Just damp fur? It's not unpleasant."

"To you maybe. All I smell is salt and sweat." She said. "Besides, Steve was taking it easy on me today."

"Ass kicking commences tomorrow." Steve promised.

 

Audrey quietly slipped into Tony's workshop later, not wanting to disturb him. Tony was hovering over four computer monitors, also beyond what she'd left behind, and a holographic projection that was definitely far beyond what her world was capable of. Tony was obviously in the middle of something, but JARVIS had let her in without protest. He had greeted her warmly at the door, even. So Audrey went and sat on the couch with the tablet Tony had given her, and started poking around online. Much of that was familiar to her at least. Wikipedia was her friend, and Buzzfeed was still a great time waster.

Tony was muttering, running through lines of code that spiraled around him, and obviously wasn't having much luck. "Fuck fuck FUCK. How can systems so similar not be compatible? JARVIS, tell me again the moral reasons against just rewriting an entire world's computer systems." Tony said suddenly.

"Because sir, for the sake of one person, we might endanger that entire world." JARVIS said calmly. Audrey's head came up from the couch tentatively and looked at Tony. "JARVIS, call Richards." Tony said, though his voice sounded like he was gagging on something that tasted bad.

"Calling Reed Richards, sir." JARVIS acknowledged.

"What do you want, Stark?" Reed asked.

"Where are you at on sending information back through the portal to Audrey's dimension?" Tony asked.

"Not great. I've had to set it aside temporarily in order to avoid being twisted up in knots quite literally over it." Reed said. Audrey saw Tony, and Reed through the video link. Neither of them were looking at one another, instead their gazes were buried in computer screens.

"What's the problem on your end? If compatibility is the issue, we could just send something physical through the portal. Hell, we could send letters through... People still know how to write, don't they?" Tony asked.

"That isn't my issue. I am... Having a hard time relocating Audrey's dimension." Audrey sat up straight, all of her attention on Reed and Tony, and that was when Tony noticed her. He met her eyes with the same vague fear that was in her own.

"Okay, what does that imply? That it's moved?"

"It could be any number of things. It could have moved off into a different timeline when Audrey left, though that would be unexpected from our investigation. But if it did, it's not exactly the same dimension we pulled her from." Reed explained. "Or, it means that you're right, that the dimension was a pocket one that McCoy created, and if it was dependent on Audrey's presence, it might have vanished when we brought her here." Reed said.

"What?!" Audrey cried.

"Auds, shit. I'm-" Tony started. Her hands went to her mouth at the horror of the thought. Audrey was up and moving in a heartbeat. "JARVIS, lock the door please. Firecode safety exit override." Audrey was shocked, but not enough that she tried to fight the door. She turned and glared at Tony, like a prisoner glaring at the warden. Tony in turn glared into the camera and directly into Reed's eyes. He was finally looking back at him after Audrey's exclamation. "Reed, keep fucking trying you incompetent fuck. How the hell has Sue not murdered you yet for emotional idiocy? I'll call you back. Get back to fucking work." Tony said and got up from his workstation. JARVIS ended the call. "Hey... Shit, I have no idea what to say here. I... we'll find them. I promise you we'll find them."

"Don't, Tony. Just don't." She said. Her hand went to her mouth again, and her eyes were wet.

"I shouldn't have had that conversation with you here. That was stupid. I wasn't expecting Reed to say that." Tony said.

"I know." She said. "And you were trying to make good on your promise... I just... What if they're gone, Tony? All those people, all those people I loved, gone. Puppets so I could have a fucking babysitter." And Audrey did know. Because she'd seen Tony's expression of horror that had matched hers, and she'd seen how angry he'd gotten at Reed a split second later, anger he was still physically shaking from. He was angry on her behalf, and that meant something to her. Tony approached her slowly, and she let him take her hand away from her face. Her eyes were threatening to spill over with tears.

"It's just a theory, Audrey... And I'm an engineer more than I've ever been a physicist... But what I do know is that energy just doesn't vanish. All the energy that made up your world had to go somewhere. It's out there, we just have to find it." Tony said. He reached out and up and touched her cheek. "We will find it. We will find them... And I know just the man to ask."

"Who?"

"Hank McCoy. I've been meaning to book an appointment anyway." Tony said. The sides of Audrey's mouth turned up slightly, but not much. The worry had settled deep in her mind now.

A sudden persistent beeping had Tony cursing a blue streak. "Fuck, remove lock on door. JARVIS, what's the situation?"

"Doombots have been spotted in the vicinity of the Freedom Tower, sir." JARVIS replied.

"Shit. Now? Really?" Tony said with exasperation. 

"I'm sorry, sir. I have no control-"

"I know, J, I know. Get the suit ready on the landing pad. I'll be right there." Tony said. He looked Audrey in the eye. "Will you be here when I get back? I can only imagine how pissed off and scared you are right now, but it's still dangerous for you to go AWOL."

"You're not going to lock me in?" She accused.

"No. I asked JARVIS to do that because I wanted to talk to you, and I can't physically stop you anymore. You're too strong for that now. You could toss me around like a rag doll." Tony said.

"I... I would never intentionally hurt you." She spat.

"I know, I know. I'm sorry. You being an adult when your mutation manifested makes a hell of a lot of difference in your level of control I think, and I would do well to keep that in mind... I have to go. Come up to the penthouse and wait for me there. I will do everything I can to avoid a SHIELD debrief after this is done. They don't really know what they're doing yet, so it shouldn't be too hard. Will you wait for me?" He asked, earnestly. Audrey took a deep breath and nodded. Tony's rushing adrenaline was getting her excited too and she had to work hard to keep calm.

"Great, come on." He said and started running for the elevator. "On the way outside chance that this turns serious, there's a safe room on Bruce's floor. It will survive if the tower collapses. But we're talking very small odds. But if it does, use it, get out, find Sue Storm, and then find Hank. That would be your best course of action." Tony said. The elevator ascended so quickly, Audrey could feel the g-force in her stomach. "Until that point though, help yourself to the bar, grab Mac, and watch TV, whatever. JARVIS, give Audrey's bio signature full access to the building in case of emergency. Anywhere she needs, I mean it. If there's big trouble, maintain her access to your servers and backup servers via her phone. She'll need you."

"Of course, sir." JARVIS said.

"Okay, let's get ready." Tony said. He turned to Audrey one last time. "Christ, I am so sorry about this. You'll wait? You promise?"

"I'll wait. I promise." Audrey agreed. Tony leaned forward and kissed her cheek, and then was dashing to the landing pad. Audrey watched in amazement again as the suit assembled around him, and the instant he was able, he was gone.

Against JARVIS' advice, Audrey got Mac, and took him outside not knowing when it would be safe to take him out again, but only to the alley behind the tower. She was tense, so Mac was tense, and she was trying to pull back that feeling in herself. She returned inside to JARVIS' relief, and dutifully fed herself and Mac, and JARVIS encouraged her to go back up to Tony's penthouse.

She went and sat with her tablet on the terrace. It was too sleek and modern for her taste, but it was outside, and that was good enough for her at the moment. She chose a spot on the ground, close to a mic and speaker, so she could still talk to JARVIS while she watched the news coverage on the tablet. Of course it was all over the news. It seemed to be a sport for the journalists. They wanted to see who could get closest to the action, despite the obvious danger. It was strange to Audrey, and reminded her of watching the images from the Gulf War as a child.

"I always used to think of the collateral damages when I was reading comics as a kid. The adventures were so fun to follow along with. But part of me always worried for the normal people whose lives got disrupted or destroyed in the fallout... And I tell ya, JARVIS, the reality is as shitty or worse than I'd imagined." She said.

"Which is the very reason the Avengers do what they do, Ms. Whelan. They are needed to keep the general population safe. Even if everyone in New York could afford to pick up and start again elsewhere, the threats would follow them." JARVIS reasoned.

"I know... I'm just a little shocked at seeing this take place in real time, and not on a movie screen... _O wonder. How many goodly creatures are there here. How beauteous mankind is. O brave new world that has such people in it_." She said softly, and watched what was probably the light from a repulsor blast in the distance.

" _'Tis new to thee._ " JARVIS said. Audrey let out a tired, relieved laugh.

"Another constant in the universe then." She said.

"You're counting them?" JARVIS asked.

"Not actual constants, more like unofficial, anecdotal constants. Rule 34, stupidity of the media, and now, Shakespeare. It's comforting, in a way, to have very familiar things in this unfamiliar world... Even if Miranda was just being a slave to her hormones."

"Are you an aficionado of Shakespeare, Ms. Whelan?" JARVIS asked.

"I liked catching it live. Reading it in school wasn't so fun." She said.

"There are several Shakespearean festivals where you're from that run in this dimension. Stratford being the most popular and consistently well received. Mr. Stark has attended on several occasions."

"Another constant then." Audrey said and smiled. "How are Tony and the rest of them?"

"They are faring well enough under the circumstances. Victor Von Doom released many of his robots into the area of the Freedom Tower though, and they will probably be some time yet before they are able to return. Would you like to go inside and warm up?" JARVIS asked. 

"The fur is a pretty good insulator." She said. "I like being outside, even if it is all the way up here with no trees." She said. That was one thing she was coming to like. She hadn't been cold yet since her X-gene had activated. The heat of the summer was going to be another issue though. She only hoped that the fur would work like cat fur and insulate against the heat as well.

"I merely suggest moving inside for the sake of your safety, Ms. Whelan. Many super humans and Doombots have flight capability, and I know Mr. Stark would want me to do the utmost to protect you. You are quite exposed out here." JARVIS said.

"Not going to go all HAL-9000 on me are you now?" Audrey asked.

"Certainly not." JARVIS said, obviously slightly insulted.

"Joke, JARVIS... Just a joke. I'm sorry. It's how I deal with emotional distress... Do you have the Kenneth Branagh Henry V or Hamlet available to watch?"

"Both titles are available." JARVIS said.

"Cue up Henry, and then Hamlet. I'll be right in." Audrey stood and stretched. She was a little sore from her day in the gym and had a bit of a headache from the stress. Getting lost in a familiar Shakespeare plot would help her distract her mind. She went in, Mac at her heels, poured herself a drink from the bar, and went to the sofa and collapsed.

She was starting to drift off pleasantly when The St. Crispin's Day speech came up and she roused herself a little. The noises from lower Manhattan had died down, as had the light show, but the tower was still deserted. As Henry resolved to fight to the last man, despite having so few soldiers to fight, Audrey's mind wandered. "JARVIS?"

"Yes, Ms. Whelan?" He asked, his tones quiet and mindful of her tired state.

"I'm wondering what I should do. I'm wondering if I should really keep going with Steve, learn how to fight and help them out there. I apparently have the strength and endurance for it now. But I don't know that I am meant for that. I admit the idea scares me." She said.

"While many who never thought themselves to be soldiers or combatants can become very effective at it, combat is far from the only way to help. There need to be people on the ground after the fighting is done to help others. There need to be people out there before the fighting begins in order to try and prevent it from happening in the first place." JARVIS said. Audrey nodded, and settled into the sofa a little further.

"Thanks, JARVIS." She said, and nodded off.

She woke with a start in the wee hours of the morning to her phone's notification sound going off. She checked it to find a message from Tony, apologizing for not getting to her sooner, that everyone was fine, and that they would be home by morning.

 _Thanks. JARVIS was keeping me updated. Mac and I are currently covering your couch in blue and brindle fur. Hope you have a vacuum attachment on that armor. Also, JARVIS likes Shakespeare. I love that about him. See you in the morning._ She sent back. Tony then sent her a photo, of his hand still encased in the armor, giving her the finger. She sent back a similar photo of her blue furry hand doing the same, and let herself fall back asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Song quoted is Big Heart by the band Juice, from their album Hit the Ground Running.  
> *JARVIS and Audrey are quoting The Tempest.


	7. Carry On

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Most of my Thor comes from the movies, because he's less of a ridiculous asshat there. So you'll have to forgive me for that. This chapter was written for Dreaming_Egypt because she wanted to see how I'd handle Thor.

Audrey woke up in the predawn light to Tony landing in the armor, but remaining in it as he came inside. A Quinjet then touched down on the landing pad. Thor followed as the rest of the battle worn Avengers spilled out the rear hatch of the Quinjet.

She sat up, craving coffee and thinking about having to get Mac outside. "Come on, buddy." She said quietly, and he got up and stretched. She was headed for the elevator when Tony came in.

"Hey, are you okay?" Tony asked, the faceplate of the armor up.

"Yeah." She said sharply. In an incredible show of intricacy, the suit popped open and Tony jumped out of it.

"Where are you going?"

"To not test the upper limits of Mac's ability to hold his bladder. We just woke up." She said. Then she took a long, slow breath. "I'm just going down to the alley. Come with me?" She asked.

Tony nodded and followed, not caring how rumpled his clothing was from being pinned inside the suit for so long and ignoring the bruising up his side from the place a Doombot had slammed him into concrete. They got in the elevator and JARVIS expressed them down to the ground floor. "Are you okay?" She asked when he leaned heavily against the back wall of the elevator. "You know, despite extenuating circumstances?"

Tony's laugh was high with an exhausted, hysterical edge. "Fuck, Audrey, _how_ are you okay? How are you keeping a lid on things?" He asked. Audrey looked at him and saw a man who knew if not loss, understood being alone. Audrey sighed and leaned beside Tony.

"Because I have Mac to look after. Because it hasn't hit me yet. Because life... isn't fair." She listed. "I know your stories, Tony. All of you. Do you think I'm the only one in this building to face the loss of everything? I don't even think I make the top ten." She said. The elevator doors opened, and they were outside in moments, while Tony thought that one over. Audrey let Mac do his thing, cleaned up, and tossed the remains in a dumpster.

"That doesn't mean it's less real, or that it doesn't hurt as badly." Tony said eventually as they walked up and down the alley, letting Mac sniff around. "I know. I really do."

"I know you do... To distract myself, I turned off the news and watched parts of Henry V and Hamlet while I dozed last night. Shakespeare is always useful to me to put things in perspective. It helps to know, that despite the potential loss of everyone, I am still not alone. Even if I didn't have Mac with me, I think you and Steve would have been here for me in the same way. It's the impression that I get, anyway." She said.

"Holy shit, there's two of you." Tony said suddenly.

"What?"

"You and Steve. Same... Carry on despite the world ending mindset. I've always admired it. And now there's two of you, and there's yet another reason for me to hold out hope for this world... But I need you to know that it's okay to feel loss. That was Steve's biggest issue for a long time. He had a hard time letting others know he was in mourning." Tony said.

"I'm not mourning, Tony, because I don't know that they're lost to me yet. When I know for sure, then I'll mourn. For now, as long as you and Reed are trying, I will hold out hope." She said. Tony looked stunned by her words.

"I...Fuck... Can I hug you?" Tony asked.

"Sure, Tony." She said. He wrapped his arms around her, and Audrey did the same to him while Mac sniffed at their feet.

"Thank you for trusting me, Audrey. Not many people trust me anymore." He murmured. He meant it too. It was more than trust he'd been lacking. Nobody had put their faith in Tony Stark's abilities in a very long time. It grounded him in a way that he'd almost forgotten he could feel.

"So far, you've earned it in my books. There's no reason for me to not trust you." She replied. She held on easily. She wasn't quite sure why he was being so tactile with her, but she wasn't going to say no. The touches were platonic and affectionate, so she let him. She knew that there would be enough people out there who would be repulsed by her, or alternately fetishize her, so this was nice. She wasn't going to turn it down when the affection behind it was genuine.

"I don't remember the last time someone said something of that effect to me." Tony admitted. He let her go slowly and he was smiling. He looked absolutely exhausted though.

"Tony, when was the last time you had a meal and got more than three consecutive hours of sleep?" She asked.

"Don't ask. Not even Rogers can break me on that. He's been trying for years." Tony said.

"Well, you said it yourself, now there's two of us. You're doomed to a life of above subsistence nutrition and rest now. Sucker." She said. Tony laughed, and they headed back for the door. Tony spotted the photographer at the entrance to the alley before Audrey did, long accustomed to the paparazzi. Tony waved and then flipped the guy off as they returned to the door.

"Wanna make out?" He teased her. "It would be a fantastic front page for The Daily Bugle."

"Let's leave the friends with benefits stage until after I know I won't accidentally chew on you." Audrey said carefully, but her eyes were crinkled up in amusement.

"What if I like chewing?" Tony asked, got close and grinned.

"Insatiable flirt." Audrey said and rolled her eyes.

"I've even got a bunch of quotes from the original Ocean's Eleven at the ready." Tony said.

"Come on, food now. Then sleep for you. You're like an over-stimulated fourteen year old."

"I'll have you know I have much better stamina than an over-stimulated fourteen year old." Tony defended as he opened the door for her and Mac.

"I'm happy for you." She replied dryly.

 

Thor was the only one left awake after the team had eaten and gone to clean up. He was relaxing with a book by one of the windows in the common room. Audrey walked in with a book in hand, and was gently playing tug with Mac over a rope toy. "Room for one more?" She asked.

"Please join me." He said, and nodded toward the other side of the couch. Mac's grip on the toy slipped, and Audrey tossed it across the room for him to chase. Audrey settled in on the couch, and followed her pattern. She idly flipped pages while playing with Mac and patting him between his romps. She'd discovered the library, had selected a book the history of the Elizabethan period.

"You've been asked to stay up with me, haven't you?"

"Aye, I have. I hope that does not anger you."

"No, not at all. Tony seems to be going to great lengths to make sure I'm comfortable here." She said. "What are you reading?"

"The Sun Shines Bright by one Isaac Asimov. My lady Jane did recommend it most highly." Thor said.

"Essays right? I think I had a copy of that that I never did get back to the friend who loaned it to me." She said.

"Indeed. That is correct. Have you read it?" He asked, pleased.

"Bits and pieces. I like collections like that because you don't necessarily have to read them in order." She said. "I was never particularly good at doing things in order. I was a poor student when held to a curriculum." 

"Well that makes us a pair in that regard. I was most hard-headed when it came to my lessons as a lad." Thor said. "And in my adolescence... And now most of the time, when I think on it deeply." Audrey laughed and gave him a knowing look.

"I've never claimed to be a good student for things I didn't want to learn about." Audrey said.

"That's probably part of the reason why Tony likes you so. He likes critical minds that thrive on independent thought." Thor said.

"He also feels guilty for bringing me here. Even if he's not sorry about it." She replied quietly.

"I suppose he does to a certain degree. He often attempts to hide how grievously things affect him... However, Tony does like you. I have not seen him take to someone so well in a very long time. He doesn't have as many friends as he should, as he guards himself carefully. But when he does make friends, he chooses well and keeps them for life. So you should not doubt the validity of his conviction where it concerns your good character." Thor insisted.

"He doesn't sit on a bathroom floor all night for just anyone?" Audrey said, and smiled.

"That is a fine example of his generosity. He will do such things without question for those that he thinks are worthy of his time."

"He's the best new friend I've made in I don't know how long... Despite what he's done to whatever future I might have had."

"It takes a great heart and a sound mind to think that way." Thor said.

"Well, it's not every day one gets told by a Norse god that they've got a good heart and mind, so I am totally committing that to my memory. Forever." Audrey said, and laughed again.

"And well you should. I am an excellent judge of character." Thor said without guile. Audrey genuinely believed he had faith in that ability in himself. "How are you bearing the pressures of this world, Audrey? Are you all right? I know that most mutants have a difficult time of it, no matter their mutation."

"It could be a lot worse... A lot worse. Mostly I am worried about the people I was taken from. I had a very good family and great friends. I miss them." She said. "I hate to leave them not knowing. It breaks my heart."

"Tony and Richards will find a way to get through to them. Of that I am certain. They are more limited in their resources compared to Asgard, but they accomplish the extraordinary." He asserted.

"I have faith in what Tony and Reed are trying to do for me... And even if they don't succeed, I have faith in their intention. What they did wasn't necessarily wrong. It just has some unfortunate consequences. I say that more on behalf of loved ones who don't know where I ended up." Audrey said.

"Tell me of them, of your home, if it is not too painful. You have kept where you're from very close to the vest." Thor said, and set his book down on the back of the couch. "And while I am a proud warrior, I am an explorer now as well. I delight in hearing the experiences of people on Earth."

"It's no Asgard... It's nowhere really. Farm country. But it's green. So green in the summer. And the light in the evening is golden. It's safe, except for horrific mosquitoes in the summer, and the winters are long, and dark, and cold... But it used to be a visiting time. There wasn't a weekend without a social event of some kind, even if it was tobogganing or skating."

"Tobogganing?" Thor asked.

"Sledding in American parlance."

"That seems an excess of syllables for a word of the same meaning." Thor said. Audrey laughed lightly.

"It's taken from a word that was used by the Cree and Innu native populations. And besides, Americans use the phrases sledding hat, knit cap, or beanie for what I grew up calling a toque. Now that was economy of speech. One syllable. Boom. No waiting for your mom to give you shit when you attempted to go outside bareheaded in the winter."

"Now a protective mother is a concept I can understand." Thor said and smiled.

"Raised by your parents, I can buy that." Audrey said.

"What of your parents?"

"Good people. Very good people. They did their jobs, and raised their kids, and are decent to everyone. They weren't perfect, but they taught me a lot about forbearance and kindness, and that's gotten me this far in life."

"And that is what Tony sees in you."

"I suppose. He's been very good company through this. Even with the adorable, platonic, and surprisingly not actually creepy handsiness of him."

"Handsy?" Thor asked.

"Tactile... He likes casual touch... Hugs and kisses, that kind of thing. I'm not used to it, but it's endearing."

"Tony is a man of hard science, Audrey. If he didn't have direct experience with magic, he would be a firm non-believer in it. Even now he will deny or try to explain things with science whenever he can. He likes what he can quantify through his senses. He reaches out to others to affirm that he's not alone, and to reassure them that they are not alone. If he can touch another in that way, it assures him of the safety of his surroundings... But when he allows you to hand him things when he is not wearing the armor, he trusts you implicitly." Thor said.

"You really have been observing since you got here, haven't you?" She asked.

"There is an irresistible unpredictability to Earth that I savour. 'Never a dull moment' as my dear Jane would say." 

"Tell me about it... I'm still feeling lost here. I'm not sure what I should be doing. I mean, what happens after I have my sit down with McCoy and try to talk him out of what he's doing? I can't go home again, and doing what I did doesn't seem... relevant... in a world like this." Audrey sighed, and Mac got close, knowing well when he was needed.

"Do not dismiss the value of your profession. If someone is willing to take an image with them to the grave, then it must be of utmost importance to them. You provide a needed service for them." Thor said.

"I tried to make it be about that. I wish clients had thought their choices through a little more. But I liked to keep my standards. No drunks under my needle. No names of significant others, unless they were dead. That sort of thing. But a girl and her dog have to eat, and hence stupid hipster birds. Everywhere." Audrey said.

"Hipster birds? I have heard these two words, but not together. The lady Darcy uses the word hipster frequently for people in overly form fitting pants that they wear despite looking most uncomfortable." Thor said, smiling at what he didn't comprehend instead of getting angry.

"The birds themselves lovely looking image, but it seemed that everyone in that particular social group wanted the same thing. I get irritated with having to do the same thing over and over." Audrey said. She picked up her phone and found the image she needed from Google, and showed it to him.

"That doesn't seem it would be a challenge for an accomplished artist." Thor said.

"Yes." Audrey said with a definite nod. "That's exactly it. I also dislike herd mentality, but we've already established that... Anyway, that's sort of where I'm at these days. I am adrift, even if it's not been an unpleasant experience so far."

"Our good Captain says you have the potential to be a great warrior." Thor said, his mind naturally leaning toward what he saw as an ideal lifestyle.

"But I don't know if I want to. I'm not sure I have the mental resources to deal with it." She said.

"You speak as though someone in your family, or close to you, has died by violence." Thor said carefully. Audrey was surprised, but not offended by Thor's deduction.

"Yeah... It was a long time ago though. But it changed my family's attitude toward guns, toward how they viewed violence, so that's a good thing." Audrey said, but offered no more on the subject. It was a heavy topic for another day.

"That is another thing you and Tony have in common, he is no fan of industrialized violence. But he's channeled that in order to make himself most effective in a just fight... I have spent my life a warrior, and I am most proud of that fact... But the world also needs its artists. They cultivate beauty, express ideas, and remind us what we fight for." Thor said. Audrey smiled at him.

"You... are a good guy to talk to." She said.

"I thank you for that. I did learn some lessons after all. The important ones at any rate."

"Tell me about Asgard." Audrey said, eyes full or curiosity.

"Let us procure an ale, and then I shall tell you." Thor said.

 

"My god, he really has eight legs? The farrier bills would be outrageous." Audrey said as Tony walked into the kitchen, stabbing at the coffeemaker with his index finger. Audrey and Thor were seated on stools at the breakfast bar.

"And Sleipnir has very fine control of all of them. One has to be respectful of him when grooming or tacking him up. If he doesn't like what is being done to him, he will let you know by pitching you across the stable with a well place hoof." Thor said. Tony groaned with relief when he finally hit the right button and the coffeemaker burbled to life.

"I had to help a little girl with a pony like that once. The pony didn't like her back feet getting cleaned out. First time I cracked a rib. Wasn't the last. But I learned." Audrey mused.

"You know, you and Tony really do share many common traits." Thor said. He took a drink from his beer glass with a quirky smile on his face. "You should see the video of him building the armor and testing its flight capabilities for the first time. After we discovered he was fine, we all found the video as funny as he did. I could think you two siblings at times when you speak to one another."

"Except I'm way prettier than Tony." Audrey grinned, and did legitimately mean it as a joke, and thankfully the company was right where an issue wouldn't be made of her looks. Thor laughed and toasted her, and Tony smiled at them, though he didn't seem capable of words yet.

"The family resemblance is nothing short of astonishing." Thor said.

"You ever see anyone who looks like me in your travels?" She asked.

"Other than our old friend Henry, no. But there is no one who speaks or thinks exactly like you either, so that should matter little. You were unique before your appearance changed, and you are still unique now." Thor reasoned.

"Thanks." Audrey said quietly. And while he still couldn't make words, Tony could clearly understand them. He lunged forward, kissed Thor's temple while Thor flinched and squawked, and then pulled back to the coffee machine finishing its job. He was snickering to himself.

"See what I mean? Though I think I should have been the one to do that." Audrey said.

"I won't object. So long as my commitment to Jane is respected." Thor said. So Audrey laughed, leaned forward, and pressed her mouth to Thor's cheek. Her limited movement didn't make for much of a kiss, but the sentiment was there, and that was enough for her. "Now, another?" He asked holding up the empty bottle of beer.

"Another!" Audrey agreed.


	8. Keepsake

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No copyright infringement intended here. No profit being made. All our continuity are belong to Marvel. All creative rearranging of it is my fault. I take responsibility, but I make no apologies... Think of this as working with character archetypes, with continuity thrown in for lolz.

Chapter 8

JARVIS gently interrupted Tony in the afternoon the next day, telling him SWORD was requesting landing privileges on the landing pad on the roof. "Are you kidding me, J? Now? Can I just get a quiet moment, please?"

"Shall I deny the request, sir?" JARVIS asked.

"You can, but she won't listen." Tony said and sighed. He was trying to catch up on work, and simultaneously communicate with Richards. They had resorted to text messages, because actually speaking to one another via phone was only resulting in shouting matches. Tony was firmly convinced that Richards was slacking off, and Richards was firmly convinced that Tony was an asshole of the highest order. "Tell Abigail that she may land, but she may not enter until accompanied. Where's Audrey at the moment?"

"In the gym with Captain Rogers."

"Tell them to clean up and that I need them. Tell Steve I need him to escort Abigail down to one of the meeting rooms. Tell Steve to disarm the SWORD agents, and make sure he's not alone with them. Ask Audrey to meet me down here though after she cleans up. I have to ask her if she's cool with this." Tony said.

"That's quite thoughtful of you, sir." JARVIS said.

"Yeah, don't let that get around. I got a rep." Tony said.

"Of course sir. Your secret is safe under the Proof Tony Stark Has a Heart and We Should Tell No One of This protocol." JARVIS said.

"Now you're just mocking me." Tony grumbled.

"Never, sir." JARVIS said, sarcasm dancing on the edges of his tone. Tony laughed.

"At least we'll be able to ask Brand about Hank's whereabouts."

Audrey showed up shortly, fur damp from a shower and wearing clothing to wick the moisture away from her skin. She waited for Tony to close the projects he was working on. "I take it this has to do with the wacky looking aircraft on the roof." She said.

"Abigail Brand seems to have made the inevitable discovery that there is a blue furry female mutant living among the Avengers. I am surprised that it took her this long to get here though. She must have been busy... I haven't been lying about the abrasive part, so I asked you down here in order to ask if you think you're ready to meet her. If not, you and Steve can take Mac for a walk and I'll handle it." Tony said.

"No, I think I should make my introductions. Even if it goes badly."

"Okay... And it might not go badly. You two might hit it off... If you do, and you want to go with her, I know she'd do her best to keep you safe." Tony said softly.

"No. While I appreciate your respect for my freedom, I will not be going anywhere for the foreseeable future." Audrey said. "You're stuck with me, Tony." Tony gave her a small, relieved smile.

Tony and Audrey went down to a more public meeting room lower in the tower. Steve was waiting for them outside the door. He was wearing tactical gear, though not his uniform, and looking serious. Tony's briefcase armor was on the ground next to him. "I should be this worried?" Audrey asked.

"I wasn't joking about her wanting to shoot me." Tony said, trying to keep the mood light.

"Cute." Audrey said. "Really though, should I be scared?"

"No?" Tony said, implying that he was fairly certain that was the case, but not entirely so. "I mean, I highly doubt she'd actually cause harm to you, but I'm taking no chances whatsoever. You know enough about our world to understand our usually justified paranoia about things."

"Very reassuring. Good job." Audrey said to Tony, who grinned and shrugged.

"Auds, you've already stared down and did well in a battle of wits against Cyclops, Magneto, and Emma Frost. Those people can be very scary. Abigail is at least sort of on the side of the angels."

"Cyclops, Magneto, and Emma Frost aren't my mother." Audrey said.

"Mmm..." Tony nodded, eyes rolled up, running the variables in his head. "Your mother is the one that loved you and cared for you. Your family is the one that is missing you right now. If we can't get word back to them, we can be your family. I'd welcome it... Until she proves herself otherwise, you can look at Brand as a genetic donor if that makes it easier." Tony reasoned.

"I'll keep that in mind." Audrey said softly. "Shall we?" She asked and sighed.

"Not a second before you're ready for this." Tony insisted. Audrey gave him a sidelong glance, and smiled at him. She reached out and hugged him for a change, and she saw him smile as she pulled him close.

"Thanks for being awesome, Tony." She said quietly, took a deep breath, centred herself, and let him go. "Okay, let's do this thing." She was much more confident and relaxed. Steve took that as his cue and opened the door to the meeting room.

They entered to see Coulson, Natasha, and Barton standing across from a woman with rich green hair, and green sunglasses over her eyes. She wasn't visibly armed and seemed anxious about that fact by the way she kept on bringing a hand to her hip, searching for a holster. Not a particularly good sign, but at least there was no weapon there for her to grab. Still Audrey kept going. She knew that Coulson, Natasha, and Barton would be armed, and there was comfort in that.

Brand laid eyes on Audrey and instantly assessed her. Audrey had seen that expression on her own face many times. "What the fuck did they do to you?" Brand asked.

"Nothing that my X-gene didn't do for me." Audrey replied steadily. All the tact that her parents had carefully trained into her showed through. Clearly no one had done this for Brand, or she'd banished it from her personality.

"You thought you could keep this from me, Stark?" Brand asked him.

"Nope. That's why I didn't try. It's Audrey's choice if she has contact with you." Tony said. Steve looked between them and despite differences in physiology, saw a similar set to Brand and Tony's jaws, and a determined glare in their eyes.

"You couldn't leave well enough alone." Brand said to him.

"What, like your boyfriend has done and is continuing to do so?" Tony asked. He was going to push back just enough. Brand didn't respect you if you let her steamroll over you. "I don't consider correcting the timeline a bad thing."

"I'm not responsible for what he does." Brand said.

"No, but you could help prevent him fucking us all over." Tony said.

"Let's all just take a moment and relax." Coulson said in his practiced, nothing will ever bother me EVER, voice. Audrey knew it was a ploy, but grinned at him and decided to go along with it. She looked Abigail in the eye, and then moved forward a couple of paces. Not enough where Brand could get into her space, but enough to show interest and friendliness.

"Hi, Abigail. My name is Audrey Whelan. I'm told I'm your daughter. Well, genetically speaking." She said calmly. Brand glared at her, making direct eye contact and looking very conflicted about it.

"Hi." She replied flatly. Audrey studied her carefully, and was glad for the limited facial expressions she had now. She wasn't giving anything away to Brand to use later. "What do you want from me?" Audrey gave her a perplexed expression.

"Stark and Richards pulled me through a portal, and then you showed up here, so I think that should be my question to you." Audrey replied calmly. Brand turned and glared at Tony.

"Why did you bring her here? What was there to gain by it?" She demanded of him.

"Long story made short and terribly blunt, I'm hoping Hank will get the message that if he can fuck with the timeline by what he did to the original X-Men, that other people can do the same, and that maybe he should stop. At least that was my original intention. Turns out though, your combined genetics and some decent nurturing have made a pretty cool person. So, all in all, I gained a friend. Not a bad deal on my end." Tony said. Audrey heard the practiced hardness in his voice. He was purposely making himself a target to Abigail would remain more neutral to Audrey.

"You selfish fuck, Stark. We had her safe." Abigail spat. "And you brought her back to this. How long until you and Rogers start another war between yourselves? How many more people will die? Will she be one of them? Forced to choose between your territorial pissing contests and end up dead as a result."

"Yikes." Audrey said. "You're right about the truth thing. That's muriatic acid kind of harsh."

"Nobody uses muriatic anymore. The proper term is hydrochloric acid." Tony said softly.

"Fucking nerd." Audrey teased. Tony grinned.

"You like it." He insisted.

"I do. But that doesn't mean you're not a fucking nerd." She said. Tension cut, she made contact with Brand again. "Look, I'm not here to get anything out of you, I just want to get a message home to the people I care about, and learn about where I am now. I suppose I could ask why you did what you did, but I don't know if I'm ready to hear your answer yet." 

"There was an invasion imminent. It was the only way to guarantee..."

"If you wanted to be rid of me, fine, but man the fuck up and abort. I have an entire life that's vanished from me. People I loved and may never see again... Because of your guilt complex." Audrey cut in. Brand glared at her again. She was not used to being interrupted and told she was emotionally compromised. But she wouldn't back down, as that was not in her nature when she was in the right.

"I wanted you... I wanted you as much as the others. I swear." She said.

"The others? Fuck. You've done this before?" Audrey said. Her voice was incredulous.

"No, you infuriating girl. I lost the other two. Killed in invasions. You have no idea what it is to lose like that." Abigail said. She'd mean to make that admission softer, but her anger, which she felt justified, was winning.

"Girl? Don't you dare fucking diminish me. In my timeline, I'm as old as you are. Seeing as I am facing down never seeing the ones I love again, I would say I have been confronted with loss. I am aware of the magnitude. So stop attacking me and say something useful, because I'm an idiot and I have to ask. I have to know. Why? Why did you abandon me?" Audrey said. The silence in the room after that question was heavy. No one moved, everyone waiting on Brand's reply. Tony was slightly in love with Audrey's fearlessness, but he was glad the briefcase armor was close incase this went south, which is where it was heading.

"We didn't abandon you. We tried to save you. It was going perfectly well until Stark here fucked up yet another thing I've worked towards."

"And how's it all working out for you? From my perspective, I'm going to assume shitty. Families should pull together during a crisis, not... compartmentalize."

"And here's where it's going to hurt." Abigail muttered and then continued in full voice. "Tony's told you about me, correct? He's told you about what I do and have done? Of course he has. Do you honestly think that someone like me would have the emotional wherewithal to raise and protect a child? You should be grateful for the family Hank found for you. I couldn't have done it. Not effectively. Not with... Love." 

"Yeah, I'm starting to see that." Audrey said.

"Well this is going terribly. Timeout." Phil said.

"That surprises you, Zach Morris?" Audrey asked.

"I said timeout, Audrey. Don't make me give you the standard Tony Stark taser threat, okay? I like you." Coulson said.

"Ha, I'm not the only one he pulls that on." Tony said.

"But it does warrant him naming it after you, so pipe down." Steve said. Tony rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest.

"You know I just take that as a compliment, right Coulson?" Tony asked. "You should too, Audrey."

"I think I'm going to let a mediator step in here. I grew up in farm country. I've taken a hit from a cattle prod. I have no interest in finding out how well the contact points on that thing can make it through the fur... Discretion is the better part of valour and all that."

"Pussy." Tony teased.

"Please no tasers they make me quiver. Oh god, Coulson, not my liver." Audrey sang quietly to the Meow Mix jingle. Tony's sharp burst of laughter brought tension in the room down again. He laughed loudly, with no effort to cover it, and he recalled distinctly an event during his M.I.T. days that had him and Rhodey facing down an extremely pissed off Dean. Rhodey had taken the whole thing in stride, and had everyone in the room, except for the Dean, laughing. He wasn't alone in his reaction. But Steve and Clint's hands had gone to their mouths to cover their response. Steve's ears were turning decidedly red as he tried to suppress it. Tony let go and laughed for a full two minutes. Moments like this had become so rare in his world that he was not going to try to stamp it down. Audrey laughed and looked affectionately over at Tony.

"Tony, look, I get what you're doing. You're trying to deflect any negative feelings Brand might have for me on to you. That's endearing, especially given her history of threatening you with space guns. But if she wants to hate me, or simply not know me, I'd prefer she make that choice based on my merits or lack thereof, and not yours." Audrey said.

"Holy shit, she's just like Hank." Abigail said suddenly.

"Given what I've heard about you, I think that you and I share some significant personality quirks that I won't get into here, because I anticipate that's gonna be a... thing... between us." Audrey said, looking at Abigail again. "So I'm not above resorting to joking about taking a taser hit in order to avoid that... How much do you know about the dimension Hank sent me to, Abigail? Did he tell you anything?" Audrey's voice became much softer now, but Abigail was fixing her with a hard glare.

"No, there wasn't time." Abigail said. "I told him I couldn't lose another child, and he did what he had to do."

"Could you find out?" Audrey asked.

"I am a genius, just not in that area of expertise, so no." Abigail said. She was fighting something within herself, and the edge to her voice wasn't convincing Tony anymore. Audrey was slowly winning over Abigail Brand, notorious badass leader of SWORD.

"Do you have any idea where Hank might be?" Audrey continued.

"Even if I did know, I wouldn't sell him out to anyone." Abigail said with a small sneer.

"I'm glad he has your loyalty." Audrey said, letting go of her line of questions for the sake of not getting excited again. "Thanks for coming to see me. I appreciate you stepping up like that. But I get the distinct feeling that this conversation isn't going to result in anything more constructive, and I have a dog to walk, so we should probably leave it there for now." Tony gave her a look, finally understanding the part of Audrey that she'd said was like Brand. The calculating, logical part, which most people had a hard time getting used to was showing through. It was just more subdued than it was in Brand.

"All right." Abigail said, looking relieved. Audrey headed for the door, but paused when she got there. 

"Oh, and Abigail, if you don't want to lose another child, then don't lose me. I'm willing to work on this if you are." Audrey said.

"Try Switzerland. For Hank." Abigail said bluntly.

"Thanks." Audrey said sincerely. "But I mean it... I'll work on this if you're willing to. I'm not trying to manipulate you. I can't imagine you'd get to your position in life without being an interesting person. I think I'd like to get to know you." She left quietly then, Mac really did need a walk.

"Okay, that went less terribly." Coulson said.

"You're just going to let her go, Brand?" Tony asked.

"Heading back to terrible country." Coulson said, and remained on guard.

"You said it yourself, she gets to choose her level of involvement with me." Abigail said.

"And she just left the door wide open for you." Tony said.

"I... Soon. I'll come back soon." Abigail said. "Soon. Just not... Now."

"I'm going to go catch up with Audrey." Steve said. "Don't be an ass, Tony. She's trying." He left just as quietly.

"Why not now?" Tony asked, and even he was surprised at how reasonable he sounded for a change.

"I haven't gotten through mourning her yet, not really, and now here she is an adult who is so much like her father it's jarring... I need a little while to process." Abigail said.

"I'm trying to understand, Abigail. I am. Why isn't this a happy thing for you? The world is getting back to stable. Your daughter is alive and healthy, and pretty fucking awesome." Tony said.

"It may get to be that way sometime, Tony. I hope it does. I spent so long worried that..." Abigail trailed off and looked away, which was a huge concession on her part. Tony knew her body language well enough.

"Worried about what?" Tony asked.

"That she'd be like me." She said, and looked him in the eye again.

"What? Obstinate, ass-kicking, fearless, and brilliant enough to be legitimately scary?" Tony asked.

"That she wouldn't ever fit in anywhere. That she would always be an outsider. That she'd live a dangerous life and have to do it alone. I've done it. It sucks." She said.

"She won't." Tony said easily. "She can stay here as long as she wants. Even Natasha is getting to like her a bit, and she doesn't like anybody."

"Hey, speak for yourself, Stark. Nat and I are tight." Clint said.

"It's okay, Barton. Nobody likes you." Tony said. Natasha's expression remained neutral and alert to their guests. "I am asking you though, Abigail, to make the effort. Richards has been very quiet the past couple of days about where the dimension Audrey was put has gotten to. I don't like when he goes all radio silence. It doesn't mean good things. He likes to hear himself talk too much."

"That sounds familiar." Clint quipped.

"Haaaaaa." Tony said. "That would be cute except for the seriousness of the situation. Audrey needs people right now. She's taken to us it seems... But if we can't make contact with her home, she's going to need people around her more than ever so she can start to establish lasting social bonds. I don't want to see her alienate herself from society like Hank did at times. All of us need to learn that lesson to a certain degree. Maybe helping her will help us." Tony shrugged and grinned.

"I think that is the most mature thing I've ever heard come out of your mouth outside of you talking about long term investing." Coulson said.

"Yeah, well, we've all been through some shit. I would hope that I've learned at least a couple of things." Tony said. "Is there anything else you need, Brand? Shall I accompany you out?"

"I'll go, Stark. But I will be keeping an eye."

"That's fine. I can get you set up for certain limited security clearances around here so you can come visit Audrey if she's willing."

"Do that." Abigail said brusquely, and her usual hardness came back to her attitude.

 

Steve and Audrey were walking though the park, calmly and quietly. Audrey's face was tense and unsettled, and Steve's expression matched. But Steve, being who he was, wanted to help. "Well, that could have gone a lot worse." He finally said.

"Yeah, from what Tony told me, it's sort of what I expected. She's interesting, but I'm not sure she was wrong to send me away." Audrey said.

"Oh, she was wrong." Steve said. "No doubt about that." Audrey's stride paused and she looked directly at Steve.

"That's kind of an absolute given the lack of real information we have." Audrey said.

"Doesn't matter. She was wrong. So was Hank." Steve said. He'd stopped beside her, and pointed briefly to his chest. "Impoverished single mother, during the great depression in Brooklyn, with no government aid, and a small, sickly, son... She kept me. She pretty much worked herself to death to keep me. Because that's what parents do. It's quite possible that you had a better, more stable family life, but it doesn't negate the responsibility Abigail ducked out of. This wasn't the end of Krypton type situation. We deal with alien invasions way more often than I'd like... We survive them. And we find ways to protect those we love. It sucks that she felt she couldn't do that. It says a lot about her, actually, that she felt so compromised by the idea of a family, and yet did something so extraordinary to keep you safe. Even if she made the wrong choice."

Audrey pulled him into a half hug. "You're a good guy, Steve. There should be more people on this planet like you." Steve put a brotherly arm over her shoulder, and they continued on their walk.

"There should be more like you too. Tony's fascinated by it. It's refreshing to see him take an interest in someone who isn't out to use him for their own purposes, which tend to be nefarious. I'm glad that he's finally starting to make some better choices for friends... Anyway, let's finish this walk, give the paparazzi something to print tomorrow, and grab a coffee on the way back." Steve said, keeping her close, but nodded to indicate someone far off to their right.

"Really, Steve? Trolling the press?" Audrey asked.

"If they were legitimate press, I might care. That being said, they aren't, and I have to amuse myself when I can." Steve replied.

"Some guy grabbed a few shots when I took Mac out the other morning with Tony. Tony flipped the guy off, and then asked if I wanted to make out in order to screw with the guy." She said. Steve's face relaxed into an easy laugh.

"He would do that." Steve said.

"This is nice." Audrey said.

"Trolling the paparazzi is nice? I would say funny as hell, but not nice." Steve said.

"No, just... Being treated normally is really nice. There was a lot more stigma in the stories I grew up with. Even what I have seen of the tabloids hasn't been particularly focused on what I look like now. Except for that article that speculated we were dating, but fuck that article." Audrey said.

"Society is getting better with it. People generally are getting better with it. It's not perfect. It may never be. There always seem to be bigots out there. But the general feeling among the public is a lot more accepting than when Hank was first dealing with it... He lost a long time relationship over it. Her loss for not being able to deal." Steve said. They continued on quietly as the afternoon shadows started to stretch out, just enjoying the day.


	9. You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet

Steve and she took a much less eventful run the next morning, and returned to Clint coming in with an adoring Mac. It seemed he missed the dog he'd had very much, and was enjoying borrowing Mac. It was clear that Mac seemed to return the affection, and it made Audrey feel all the more at home here.

"How have you not been pissed off entirely though this? If I had your teeth, I think I would be gnawing off faces by now if I were you." Clint said in the elevator.

"No, you probably wouldn't have. You're more subtle, though no less ruthless, when it comes to things like that." Audrey replied.

"Do I get brownie points because I want to on your behalf?" Clint asked.

"Yes, you do. You get all of them. I may even make you brownies some day for it... Though, you'd have to watch out for the odd bit of blue fluff from natural shedding." Audrey said.

"I look forward to the day. Seriously though, how are you maintaining your cool?"

"I grew up with someone prone to anger. Getting angry back was not the way to deal with it. So I get angry, but it passes through me pretty quickly. It's not letting it go, but it's an active choice to not let it control me." Audrey said.

"So, you want to learn the best way to deal with anger?" Clint asked.

"You're on. Something tells me this will be more fun than Bruce's methods." Audrey said and grinned.

Clint absolutely loved that Tony had a firing range tucked in with the gym between the Avengers' private floors and Tony's R&D department. He managed to distract Audrey thoroughly for a bit, but soon gathered she had some working knowledge of archery and 'long guns' as she referred to them. "I'm from farm country. People hunt there, Clint." She said softly

"Did you?"

"No, I tried to avoid shooting at living things when I could. Unless it was something that was rabid, or had distemper or mange. But I do like marksmanship."

"Well then, we're about to have some fun today then."

Clint called Steve and Tony two hours later. "Get down to the gun range if you want to see something awesome." He said and hung up before either could ask any questions.

Tony sighed at the disturbance and went to the range. Steve was already there when he arrived. Steve tossed Tony ear and eye protection. "You gotta see this." Clint said before Tony put the ear protection on. Tony stood quietly beside Steve, comfortable in one another's space. Steve, for his part, was already looking quietly impressed. Tony had long ago created self-propelled, moving, targets for the range. They could take the impact of bullets, and would light up in various colours depending on the accuracy of the hit.

Audrey gave the nod for them to be released, and in quick succession had all six targets down in a moment. "Ha! Remind me to marry a farm girl!" Clint shouted when Audrey lowered the firearm and smiled a bit. She only had to raise it up again though when the targets came to life again, and she repeated her performance. "So fucking cool." Clint said. Audrey lowered the rifle again, and followed the proper procedure to unload and store it.

"Great, now Audrey's going to make my balls recede into my abdomen too." Tony said and rolled his eyes.

"Never happen. I'm not a fan of shooting living things unless they were a danger to something else... Targets are fun though. My reaction time is so fast now. It's nuts."

"What living things have you had to shoot?" Steve asked.

"Usually animals that had wandered on to the property. They tended to be sick or after the stock. I hated doing it though." She said. She set the rifle carefully away, after triple checking that it was clear.

 

To Audrey's very real surprise, it was Tony who woke her very early two mornings later, looking like hadn't been to sleep yet. She glared at him and muttered something about caffeine.

"I have a hit from the satellite network. Hank's been in and out of Lauterbrunnen in Switzerland." Tony said. Audrey groaned and sat up.

"Next time you wake me up at stupid o'clock in the morning, bring coffee." She grumbled and rubbed her eyes with her knuckles. A concession to the claws on the ends of her fingers now.

"Yeah, not going to happen. I pay the bills around here, I bring no one coffee." Tony said.

"I'll just get JARVIS to lock you out until there's a mug of coffee, intended for me, in your hand." She said, but smiled a bit. "So, what's the deal with Hank? Do we go after him?"

"I will be for sure. Richards will probably want to go as well. Dimension hopping is more his bag, and I'm happy to let him have it. This world has enough problems of its own with importing others... Whether you want to come is up to you." Tony said. "I want you to be assured that everything you do here is your choice. If you don't want to come, you don't have to."

"Richards would have dragged me along without consent, wouldn't he?"

"Yeah, he probably would have. There are reasons why I am not all that fond of him." Tony said. Audrey grinned.

"Okay, I'll go." She said eventually. "I mean, it's what you brought me here to do, right?"

"Technically yes. Though I could use your presence here as a bargaining chip to get him back Stateside for questioning." Tony said.

"Is he in trouble? Will he be arrested or anything?" Audrey asked.

"There's nothing to actually charge him with. The laws governing his kind of behaviour don't exist yet." Tony said. "Is he in for a stern dressing down, and lots of questions, yeah. He is. But he likes talking... Anyway, I think he's ashamed of some of the things he's done and wants to correct them. I think you could help talk him into trying again."

"I'll go, Tony... Besides, I've never been to Europe. I can't really turn down that opportunity." She said.

"Okay but it's not exactly going to be a pleasure trip. And if Hank turns hostile, it could be an issue."

"I've been reading up on him. His inherent good nature is well documented."

"But he's been through a lot of shit."

"Well, if worse comes to worst, I'll get JARVIS to help me get back here. He's handy for that." She said, and reached for her phone on the bedside table.

"Smart girl. Here, try these. Speaking of JARVIS, I had him scan your feet the last time you were in the workshop. They should fit around the claws on your toes nicely." Tony picked up a carefully proportioned pair of tactical boots from beside the bed. Audrey picked on of them up and examined it carefully.

"These are... Fucking cool." Audrey said. "Thanks. Really. I mean, my feet are tough, but it's nice to not have to worry about broken glass etcetera."

"Good, I'm glad you like the look of them. Tell me if there's anything wrong with the fit or function, okay? Note how the zipper hooks at the top, and then runs down. It'll help keep your fur from getting caught in it."

"Okay. When do you want to leave?" She asked.

"Get dressed. Comfortable. Warm. Something you can wear for a while. We'll eat, and I'll call Richards." Tony said.

"I'm kind of surprised you don't spit when you say his name." Audrey was sleepy and amused. "When did you last sleep, Tony?"

"I'll snooze on the way over the Atlantic." Tony said. "That way I won't have to talk to Richards."

"Oh, so you'll leave me to it, then. You should have brought me that coffee as a sacrifice to please me." Audrey teased. She got out of bed, and started pulling out comfortable, practical clothing.

"Steve and Sue will probably want to come along. Sue tempers the worst of Reed's ego. Steve can shut him up with a well-placed glare. It's beautiful."

"Okay... Should I attempt to make nice?" Audrey asked.

"You can try, but you don't have to." Tony said. "Pack an overnight bag too, just in case. We'll get Bruce to look after Rowlf." Audrey nodded, and took the sleek, sturdy bag that had come at the same time as the clothing that was ordered for her after her mutation had manifested. She looked him over casually, and determined by the way he was waiting that he was most likely ready to travel, and had waited until a somewhat sane hour to wake her. Audrey was glad of that. Her chosen profession had meant afternoon shift hours, and she liked to sleep in a little longer when she was allowed. She could keep farm hours if she had to though.

She took Mac out, fed him, and then hugged him close as she handed him over to Bruce. Bruce wished her luck and smiled at her, so she hugged him too.

In the kitchen, Audrey ate for the sake of her metabolism, rather than her hunger. There was a nervous pit starting in her stomach, and she was glad she'd already handed Mac off so he wouldn't pick up on that from her. She ate efficiently, and then tried on the boots Tony had made. Her toes slid in to a comfortable, if alien feeling, space in the end of the boot. "Neat. How are my toes not going to tear these to shreds?" She asked.

"A memory polymer or a sort? That's the best way to explain it in layman's terms. Very strong and still flexible. Also, it's easy to replace if it wears out. The toecap itself is adamantium. So you have little worry about getting your tootsies crushed." Tony explained.

"Are the insoles of my boots based on Spiderman's webbing?" Audrey asked suddenly, in only the way that an exhausted mind could weave things together.

"Yeah, with the sticky removed... And you are going to get another kiss for that. Whoever told you that you don't have a mind for scientific extrapolation was an idiot."

"I was in a veterinary program. I never said that I didn't love science. I just don't know how to school. I'm allergic to the environment."

"I love that you use school as a verb to project how bad you think you are at it." Tony said. He bent at the waist from where he'd been standing beside her making out with his coffee cup, and kissed the top of her head. His free hand lingered on the back of her head and neck, and Audrey let him. She fought hard to not admit how good it felt to basically have her fur be petted by an affectionate hand. She supposed it could be seen as dehumanizing, but she trusted Tony to see her humanity first and foremost, so she put him on her mental list of people who were allowed to do this. So she sipped at her coffee and let the peaceful moment fill the nervous feeling in her stomach.

 

Audrey was still groggy enough that when she boarded the Quinjet with Steve and Tony that they just grinned at her when she asked about the logistics of travelling to Europe with no valid identification. "It's less of an issue when you're zipping around in military aircraft." Clint said gently and headed with Natasha for the pilot's seat.

"Funny, you'd think it would make it more of one. I assume entering foreign airspace that is not one's own is an issue here too." Audrey murmured.

"We're with SHIELD, such as it is these days. We won't be bothered." Tony said and directed her to a row of seats on the wall of the aircraft with a military utility to them. There were belts and a full body harness for evasive maneuvers. The full Iron Man armor was fastened to the floor near the pilot's seat. Audrey took a seat, and buckled in. Tony gestured to the space beside her.

"You mind?" He asked.

"Not at all." She said. "I may nod off on you though. Still sleepy. Coffee isn't doing it for me."

"Well that makes two of us." Tony said.

Steve set himself down on the other side of Tony. Reed, Sue, and a young blond man that resembled Sue boarded, stowed their gear, and took their seats. Audrey was introduced to Johnny Storm, who immediately set about sort of hitting on her, in a way that was somehow both douchy and awkward at the same time. Audrey blinked and introduced herself, but let Johnny's comments hang. She looked mildly at Tony. "Given my unconventional appearance, I'm going to assume he does this with everyone." She said.

"You assume right. You should look up the security video of when he tried to hit on Pepper. He crumpled like paper, and she didn't even say a word." Tony said.

"You said you were going to delete that, Stark." Johnny said.

"On the company server, sure. My private server is a different story, puddin'. Besides, Pepper's sister wanted it to show to her daughters how easy it can be to rebuke a man. I figure it's an important resource as the girls get older and learn about issues of consent."

"Prepare yourself for takeoff, people. Let's go bring the fuzzball home... No offense, Audrey." Clint called. Audrey shrugged.

"I rarely take offense to the truth." She said.

"So many reasons for you to be my new favourite." Tony said, and then leaned on her shoulder as far as the seatbelt would allow. Audrey let out a small, breathy laugh, but made no motion to remove Tony. "And you're fuzzy and warm. That also helps." Tony reached out, pulled her arm around him, and stroked the fur on the back of her hand.

"Should I find this demeaning?" She asked.

"Nope." Steve said. "I've seen him do the same thing to Bruce."

"Hell, I've done the same to you." Tony justified. "And Jan and Pym... Oh and Thor on that one movie night we had. He's an epic cuddler. But not Barton. Barton smells funny."

"That doesn't surprise me at all." Audrey said wryly. "Getting cozy with Thor is probably like cuddling with an octopus made of brick though."

"Only in spots. He has some squishy parts." Tony said and closed his eyes.

"How are you adjusting, Audrey?" Sue asked. Reed's attention was eaten up by whatever he was doing on his tablet, which Audrey noted was StarkTech. She met Sue's gaze, found her expression genuine about the question, so she granted her an honest, if non-committal answer.

"It could be worse." She replied. "The living conditions and company are excellent. Still... working on the rest of it though."

"You're getting there. You will get there. I swear, there's way more good than bad to it." Tony said firmly. He pushed himself closer to her. Audrey shook her head and chuckled. "Now shush, I haven't slept in two days."

The rumble and vibration of the jet taking off soon settled into the regular hum of flight, and by that time, it was safe to say that both Tony and Audrey were out. Steve and Johnny exchanged a wry look as they both took pictures with their phones.

Steve nudged them awake when they hit the coast, figuring correctly that Audrey would want to see it. She stood behind Natasha and Clint, admiring the view.

"The first time I was here, I came up on it in the dark during wartime. Couldn't see a damn thing." Steve told her.

"It's beautiful." She replied. Here eyes were momentarily drawn back though. Tony was making last minute triple checks on the armor, and then opened it up from behind and stepped into it. "So fucking cool." Audrey muttered and turned her attention back to the horizon line.

"What was that, sweetheart?" Tony asked her. The faceplate hadn't come down so he gave her an expectant leer.

"Not a damn thing, Tony." She said, and kept her eyes on the horizon.

 

The landing was smooth, but Audrey hung well back from the hatch of the jet. Tony paused beside her, and put his armored hand on her with surprising tenderness. "You okay?" He asked.

"Yeah. I'm just going to hang back and enjoy the scenery. Try not to blow it up, okay?" She said. The faceplate came down, cutting off his laughter.

"I promise to not blow up the Alps. Anything smaller, I can't guarantee." He said. "Put that comm unit in your ear, and you'll be able to hear what I hear, okay?"

She did so, and when it was secure, she could hear Tony chattering to JARVIS about what needed to happen next. Tony stepped down the ramp, and took to the air, gaining on Johnny Storm. They were outside of the town proper, and the house they'd landed near had sleek, modern lines. But it was the backdrop that made Audrey gasp. In the dying light of day, the mountains were breathtaking. "Well Hank, you sure can pick a spot." She murmured.

"Okay, Hank. I have a lock on you in there. Let's chat." Tony said. His voice was in Audrey's ear, but also over the loudspeakers in the armor, and over what was probably every available speaker in the current area.

"Ha, you'll never take me alive, copper." The response came over the same speakers. The unknown voice was rich and deep. Audrey's keen hearing could pick up on humming from within the house.

"He's deploying drones. Scans show they are flight capable and armed to the teeth. Incendiary projectiles." Tony said over the comm unit. The rest of the team took notice and prepared themselves for an assault. Audrey's breath caught. Without thinking, she pulled her phone out, and headed further back into the Quinjet.

"JARVIS, get me into Clint's locker." She muttered.

"Are you quite certain, Ms. Whelan?" JARVIS asked.

"If they're not alive, and don't have an intelligence similar to yours, I'm fine with it." She said.

"As you wish." JARVIS replied. In a matter of moments, the locker was open, and Audrey went for a long-range rifle with a scope. She had adapted to Clint's sights well enough before, and hoped that she could again.

Things were already in full swing when Audrey went back to the hatch of the jet. The drones were swarming everyone but her. She stayed safely on board, but without hesitation raised the firearm and picked off one that had latched on to Tony's armor. They were the size of an average suitcase, and Audrey had learned enough about this place to know how much firepower that could pack. She took careful aim, and hit the drone in a way that blew it off Tony's armor. Tony reached out, grabbed it as it fell, and crushed its propulsion system in his hand. His gaze then swept over in Audrey's direction, but she was already taking aim at another one headed for Reed. "Nice shootin', Tex!" Tony hollered in her ear.

"Patch me through to Clint." Audrey said to him.

"You broke into my locker!" Barton shouted at her.

"No, JARVIS did it for me. I can help on this. Now, what do you want me to concentrate on?" She asked calmly. Barton didn't even bother to sigh heavily. There was no time.

"Focus on keeping Reed covered. He's working with Tony on breaking down the house's security system. Also keep an eye out for Tony and Johnny. I'll cover Steve, Nat, and Sue, who doesn't really need it anyway."

"You got it." She said, and let off a round. "Got a soft spot in them yet?"

"Near the propulsion system at the back of them. Rectangular plate. Can you make that out?" Clint asked.

"Yup." She said. She let out a breath, pulled the trigger, and an instant later one exploded above Reed's head.

"Good stuff." Barton murmured.

"So, Hank, I just want to lay it out here, that we're not here to take you into custody." Tony said over the loudspeakers.

"Funny way of showing it, Stark." The deep voice said again. Tony was hovering over the house, firing off repulsor blasts and small missiles at the drones. Johnny was making a wide arc around the house, trying to keep the drones contained. Audrey kept her mind to her task. It was overwhelming to a degree, and she was probably being more conservative than she should be, but she wasn't prepared for anyone to get hurt because of her.

"We just want to talk with you, Hank." Tony tried again.

"So talk. You seem to be multitasking well enough." Hank said.

"You know what you're doing is wrong, Henry." Reed said over the comm unit. "We need to rein yourself in."

"And who are you to judge what I do, Reed? I know the kind of things that happen when you and Stark start collaborating. Rarely are they purely for the common good." The deep voice had some venom in it that time. "If you want to talk, then come in here and we'll talk."

"Not an option." Tony said. "I'm not going into any structure that you've had more than five days to hide out in. It will be a cross between what I would do, and what the kid in Home Alone would do." Tony retorted. There was a significant pause in communication. "Come on, Hank. I know you're laughing at that. Let's have a conversation like adults. I have something to show you."

Audrey kept alternating targets between Reed, Tony, and Johnny. She thought she was holding her own. Barton wasn't barking in her ear anymore and seemingly had left her to it. The drones were starting to thin out in the air, and the wreckage of them was piling up on the ground.

"I have removed myself from the warring factions of mutants, Stark. I just want to be left alone for a change. I'm sick of being used ruthlessly for other people's purposes." Hank replied.

"That's fine. No one asking you to do anything other than talk and have a look at what I have to show you. I'm asking you to come outside so we can have a conversation." Tony said.

"And would that be the latest StarkTech patents designed to bring down fuzzy blue mutants?" Hank asked.

"No. You promise me that if you come out unarmed, I will land, power down the suit, and step out of it." Tony offered.

"Stark, are you insane?" Steve shouted.

"No more than Hank or Richards. We scientist types are all a bit nuts, Cap. You know that. It doesn't mean we lack morals." Tony said. The cohort of drones was down to less than twenty. Audrey picked off a few more for good measure, and then lowered the rifle, letting Clint and Natasha bag the rest. Audrey then heard Tony's voice in her ear alone. "Stow the gun, and if you would be so kind as to meet me at the front walk to the house. Hank will need to see you for him to stand down."

"Sure, Tony." She said quietly. She made short work of securing the rifle, and then something in a shelf on the door of the locker caught her eye. Cartridges that looked like a cross between an epi-pen and a tranquilizer dart. She scanned the sides of them and, saw that they were classed by weight and some kind of power rating that she didn't understand. She chose one in the middle range, pulled the cap, hid it carefully in her palm, and left the aircraft. Out in the wind, she was glad she'd dressed warmly, even with the fur. She noticed though that the wind didn't bite at her ears like it used to. Fur had its advantages.

"Hank, if you would direct your attention to your front door, I'd like you to take a moment to reconsider whatever tactical plan you might have." Tony said as he came down to the ground beside Audrey. They walked together to the front door, but kept a healthy distance. The cameras weren't obvious, but they were there. Audrey heard the humming within the house slowly halt, and things got quiet.

After a few moments, the door to the house opened slowly and silently. Henry McCoy loomed in the entryway, looking as pedestrian as a man like him could. He was dressed simply and comfortably and barefoot, as if their intrusion was a legitimate surprise. He did have an intriguing pair of goggles perched on his head though. The band of them cut into his fur. Blue. He was a much more Royal Blue tone than Audrey's Cyan tones.

On first glace, he appeared to be unarmed, so Tony remained true to his word. The armor peeled away and he stepped out of it. 

"Hello, Henry. I'm Audrey. We need to talk." She said quietly. Hank's expression was nothing short of astonished. He stepped forward slowly, careful of his mass and the strength that came with it. To Audrey, he appeared to be painfully aware of not throwing his weight around. She wasn't sure how to react to that, and wondered if he was just mindful, or ashamed and shy of his appearance. He got close enough to touch Audrey with his free hand. He was holding a phone or some kind of wireless device in the other.

Audrey forced herself to not look at it, and made her expression show that she was receptive to being touched. "Audrey... I like that name. I'm so glad they named you that." Hank murmured. He brushed her cheek. She stayed still, let him relax a little, and took a step closer to him. Her sharpened senses could hear his pulse and feel it through the pads of his fingertips on her cheek. She could see his slightly strained breathing as he took in her scent and overcame the shock of the situation.

And slowly he calmed down. His body fully relaxed. He was just about to pull her into his arms when Audrey struck. Her enhanced reflexes and strength combined with the training Steve had given her so far. She was careful to make sure the hypodermic struck true, through fabric and fur into Hank's upper arm.

Hank's expression soured at the intrusion, and then looked something like parental pride when he realized what she'd done. He staggered after a moment, but Audrey caught and held his bulk easily. She turned him and lowered him to the ground on his back. "You said you'd be unarmed. A phone in your hands may as well be an atomic bomb." Audrey said gently, as she cradled his head in her hands. Hank was still awake, but was fading out fast. Tony had caught the phone before it hit the ground and already had his tech hungry thumbs on it.

"Now, we really are going to talk, and they really aren't going to take you into custody. The law still doesn't even know how to catch up with what you did. But we will talk on my terms. You not having access to weapons is one of those terms. Have a nice nap, Henry. I'll be here when you wake up. Abigail says hi." Audrey reassured.

"No she didn't." Hank mumbled as his eyes fluttered shut.

"No, but it would have been nice if she had." Audrey agreed.


	10. Safe and Sound

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No copyright infringement intended here. No profit being made. All our continuity are belong to Marvel. All creative rearranging of it is my fault. I take responsibility, but I make no apologies... Think of this as working with character archetypes, with continuity bits thrown in for lolz.
> 
> Slight angst ahead... Silliness to resume shortly.

Tony took his eyes away from the phone as Hank succumbed to the tranquillizer as soon as he ensured that it wasn't going to blow anything up in the immediate future. "Holy shit. JARVIS said you had it, but I didn't think you'd actually do it." Tony said.

"I do not set my life at a pin's fee and all that." Audrey replied. She was still cradling Hank's head in her hands. "JARVIS helped me do a little homework on him. His genius is so wide-ranging it's kind of scary. Who knows what he would have done with that phone?"

"You had him. He probably would have come along peacefully."

"Until he decided he didn't want to anymore... He knows me, Tony. Did you hear what he said? How he looked at me... He knew exactly who I was." She said softly.

"And he seemed pleased to see you, until you knocked him the fuck out." Tony said.

"Why did you do that?" Steve asked her as he jogged up beside them.

"Because Audrey is as calculating as Brand. We can check out the house and what he's been up to this way." Natasha said. "We should do that. How long do we have until he wakes up?"

"Looks like she gave him a dose meant for someone with Steve's metabolism, so we've got at least a few hours." Clint said, retrieving the cartridge.

"Should we move him inside or into the jet?" Audrey asked Steve.

"The jet. He's coming back to New York with us. Tony, can you give us a basic scan of the house's tech so we don't walking into whatever he's booby-trapped it with? Steve asked.

"Already on it, Cap. I think he disabled the defenses once he saw Audrey. The timestamp on the order matches her stepping off the jet." Tony said, his eyes back on the screen of Hank's phone. "You got this thing uploaded on a secure server, J?"

"Yes sir, I am currently checking the functions of the house's security system. Dr. McCoy it seems, has a mercurial, puckish sense of humour about these things." The speakers in the suit said, as the suit itself fired back up. Tony stepped back into it, the phone already stashed somewhere inside it. Audrey helped Steve carry Hank back to the jet, still somewhat surprised by her own strength. McCoy was a massive being. They lowered him down, and Audrey stroked his cheek while she helped Sue start to check his vital signs.

"Holy shit! Steve, Audrey! Get in here! I need art nerds stat." Tony crowed into their ears.

"You got this, Sue?" Steve asked.

"Sure. Send Johnny my way though." She said. Audrey was reluctant to leave Hank, but went along when Steve put his hand on her shoulder.

"How pissed off at me do you think he'll be?" She asked him.

"Knowing him, he's probably already ridiculously proud of you. He's odd like that. He likes the unexpected." Steve said. Johnny jogged past them on the way to the jet and winked at them.

"He's so... greasy." Audrey said.

"He's young... Though, he'll be cashing in his pension and still be young." Steve said.

"Get your ass in here, Rogers!" Tony barked again.

"Dammit, what is it, Tony?" Steve said and sighed.

"Nothing to panic about, but you absolutely have to see this." Tony said.

They dashed inside the house and were immediately stopped at the spacious common room. All the furniture had been removed and replaced with tall, heavy, steel wire racks, which had sleeves that rolled in and out. "Holy shit." Audrey gasped. Tony had several rolled out, and they were looking at masterpieces.

"Holy shit." Steve repeated.

Tony was across the room, and had several computer screens up and was now gazing intently at them, looking comfortable despite still being in the armor. "Is this what I think it is?" Steve asked, approaching one of the paintings with such care that it looked like he was trying to avoid even breathing in its presence.

"Looks like Hank has been tracking down art that was stolen or destroyed by that Nazis. In many cases, he's gone back in time to the last known location of a work, and just walked out with it... And further poking shows that he's trying to find descendants of the rightful owners, or donating quietly to museums... Fuck me. And here I thought he was zipping through time to put his plans for world domination in place." Tony said.

"You think he actually has one?" Steve asked.

"It's not like he wouldn't be a benevolent dictator... He told me about it years ago. So I told him mine. Most of us genius types have at least one. I'm sure we've both amended our mental plans by now. Constructive criticism can help avoid a lot of mistakes. Unless you're Reed and you don't want to hear it, so you end up failing and looking like a gigantic dick." Tony said and grinned.

"I don't need constructive criticism, plebian. Besides, it isn't what you do with it, it's the size that counts." Reed quipped from where he hunched over a worktable filled with complicated equipment.

"Oh no no no." Tony retorted. "If you all you've got is size, you're missing most of the equation, Reed."

"Tony, unless you're discussing the size of your relative egos, you're proving me right about the 'physics, geometry, and heist movie quotes' thing." Audrey said. She was taking a closer look at the other works Hank had collected.

"I never denied it." Tony said and laughed a little.

"So what do we do with this?" She asked.

"At the moment, I have no idea." Tony said softly. "We lock the house down before we leave for sure. I've got JARVIS worming his way into the house's security system."

"How about this." Steve said, looking around in awe.

"Fuck, those are the Klimts from the University of Vienna, aren't they?" Audrey asked. She trembled a bit at the sight of the reds and golds of Medicine and the figure and face of Hygieia.

"They sure as hell look like it." Steve said. "Fuck me." He murmured. And for once, in the presence of the beautiful and mysterious face gazing down on them, nobody even thought to rag on Steve for swearing.

 

Hank came to and saw three familiar faces, and one that should have been. Reed, Steve, Tony, and his heretofore stranger of a daughter, Audrey were standing at the end of the medical bed he was laid out on. "Hank, what were you thinking?" Reed asked before anyone else had a chance to speak.

"Shut up, Reed. How about you let the long lost family introduce themselves to one another? Then we'll grill him like a rack of ribs about the state of our timeline." Tony said through clenched teeth. Steve smirked. He was going to get Tony a nice edition of To Kill a Mockingbird for his next birthday.

"That depends if the long lost daughter in this equation is going to tranq me again." Hank said.

"You didn't keep your promise. I neutralized a threat to the people I've come to care about." Audrey said.

"My stars, you're just like Abigail." Hank said. Tony snorted and shook his head at the same time as Audrey.

"Nope." Audrey said. "Definitely not just like her. Tony insists I'm more like you. But I like to think that I am the product of decent, good people, who taught me to give a shit, and to not back down." She was gently refusing to apologize for what she'd done to Hank. His expression grew fond his eyes were locked on hers.

"Audrey." He said quietly. "Great name. Lovely name."

"Thanks." She said. "If I ever get to see my mom and dad again, I'll tell her you think so."

"The Whelans? Why wouldn't you be able to see them again? Unless of course they have anti-mutant leanings. But they didn't when I was researching them." Hank said casually. Audrey's jaw slacked a bit in astonishment.

"Explain yourself, Hank." Tony said.

"Well, isn't it obvious, Stark?" Hank asked. Mirth played the corners of his eyes and mouth.

"Nope. Sure isn't. Reed pulled her out of another dimension." Tony said. He was getting angry at the idea that Hank had slipped one past him.

"A pocket dimension." Hank said.

"So? What of it?"

"I've had some help playing with Shi'ar tech and from Stephen Strange. I've learned some interesting ways to manipulate dimensions. Really, Stark. I thought that you and Reed of all people would have had this figured out by now. Audrey's dimension was dependent on her presence in it. With her gone from it, that dimension should have folded itself back into ours more or less seamlessly. It's taken me a long time to figure this out, and I had to work backwards after I sent Audrey there. When my observations showed that the two dimensions had woven back together, I was so worried you'd somehow died, Audrey." Hank said. She could see that he wanted to reach out and touch her, but Audrey held herself back. She wasn't willing to trust him yet by any means.

"Hank, do you realize how batshit INSANE you sound right now? You're talking like Doom for fuck's sake." Tony said.

"The hell you say, Stark. You know I'm not. I screwed up... Badly. Immeasurably. And I think we both know what people like us can resort to when we're dying. Because I was dying. Without the younger version of myself, I would be nothing more than a pelt on a floor on Utopia. There's not a superhuman who wouldn't try what I did. My experiments with Audrey's dimension will help me mend the timeline. I'm sure of it now. I can stitch it all back together."

"It's not that simple, Hank." Tony said.

"Yes, Tony, it is. You and Reed pull things like this all the time, at your own moral judgment. I'm getting the understanding that you didn't know what would happen to Audrey's dimension, and yet you brought her here anyway. What if it had collapsed and the death of the whole planet was on your hands? So be glad that I was around to retro engineer the contingency plan for your impulsiveness." Hank said. He was well awake by now, but he thought he could use at least a bucket of coffee, and he couldn't cover his forming annoyance.

"We wouldn't have to worry about it at all if you hadn't let Abigail abandon her and then started dabbling in the timeline." Tony grumbled.

"Like you're one to talk about the timeline getting played with. You've done just fine for yourself." Hank said.

"It wasn't technically me doing that, Hank." Tony said. Hank fixed his eyes on Audrey.

"Audrey, please take this to heart, Abigail and I were trying to keep you safe. That was my motivation. My life wouldn't have allowed me to look after you. Not for lack of desire to. It's just... my life, my ability to function in this world is limited by my appearance. I am too well known. There would have been no normal experience for you. There would have been no way for me look after you the way you deserved to be looked after. I am sorry for that. I am. But I wanted you to have a life of your own, outside of the insanity that being my child would have dragged you into. And it was working. You would have had that. Until Stark and Richards went and screwed with the variables on me.

"Or you could have just found a way, Hank. You're smart enough. You could have manned up and taken responsibility." Tony shot back. Hank's expression soured. "You need to be held account for what you did, Hank."

"On what authority? Yours? SHIELD or HAMMER or whatever it's being labeled now?"

"No dipshit, for Audrey." Tony said, interrupting Hank before he could start railing on about the world's security organizations.

"There were times when I couldn't go outside for fear of being shot at, Stark. You tell me that you'd bring a child into that? Would you? How am I irresponsible for making sure my child didn't get her head blown off when she was too young to know what was going on?" That caused a heavy silence in the room, and everyone found a damn good reason to look at their hands. "After all that's happened, I just... I went for a walk. I had to get away from things for a while... I am just so exhausted of everything I put my hands to turning to shit, or being weaponized, or being ignored because I happen to look the way I do... So I thought I would save a few things instead."

"How about you take that attitude and turn it on Audrey?" Tony said. His voice lacked venom now. "She's awesome, Hank. She could be your saving grace. Really. If you can't find a reason to keep fighting for this world, borrow hers. Hell, just borrow her. She's your kid, Hank... In a fucked up, weird, totally Hank way to procreate, she's yours. That should be reason enough. Even if the authorities find a way to hold you to what you've done. She should be enough to make you hold on."

"Stop." Audrey said. Her head was bent down and she was grinding her knuckles into her forehead. "Holy shit the drama is exhausting... This is why I _hated_ comic continuity." She muttered. "Tony, Reed, can you give me a minute to talk to Henry, please? You'll need to talk to him longer than I will. Steve, can you hang out?" Tony glared at Audrey and she gave him her best reassuring expression. "Just, a few minutes, and then you can argue the inner workings of dimensional blending and Henry's moral stance regarding his offspring." She said. Tony huffed suddenly and his shoulders slumped.

"I'm doing what Reed would be doing if I let him, aren't I?" He asked.

"I'll track down a Montecristo for you. But you do appear to have my best interest at heart. Thank you for that." She replied softly.

"Come on, Reed. Let's give them space." Tony said. He grabbed Reed's upper arm and escorted him out of the medical bay. Steve stood back and leaned on the wall, taking a passive stance for the moment. Hank looked at Audrey again.

"So, let's try that again." She said.

"He means well." Hank replied.

"He does. Also, while he's eating better these days, he's still sleep deprived." She replied.

"Same old Tony." Hank said. He was semi-reclined on the medical bed, designed for the larger members of the Avengers. "How are you, Audrey?" He asked. In four words, Audrey caught the depth and breadth of his question. He was asking about being brought into this world. He was asking if she was coping. He was definitely asking how she was dealing with the fur.

"Not... bad?" Audrey replied. She was obviously still thinking it over. "This isn't ideal... Though the circumstances of the situation have moments of awesome... It's been weird, Henry. Very fucking weird."

"You seem to have a remarkable attitude about it." Hank said.

"I do." She agreed. "And that's not being egotistical, I'm just good at seeing the positive side of a shitty situation, and picking my moment to react." Hank rubbed at the spot where she'd plunged the tranq dart down.

"I gathered that." He said. There was no malice in his voice though. "Forgive my paranoia, Audrey. I've been on the run for some time now. I never meant you any harm."

"Really, launching drones is a funny way to show it." She said. Steve quirked an eyebrow. He was carefully observing how Hank reacted to that statement.

"My dear, those drones would have held off most human and average threats. They weren't designed to fend off various Avengers and three quarters of the Fantastic Four. I assume they enjoyed it on some level. It's nice to exercise one's skills in a relatively safe environment with low risk of injury." Hank explained. He was looking directly at Steve, who shrugged.

"You're not wrong." Steve said as he was trying to hide half a smile.

"See? Skirmishes like that just make for an average weekday. I've done far worse things to anger the world at large lately." Hank said.

"You're not wrong on that, either." Steve said. Audrey smirked at him.

"Steve Rogers, I enjoy your elegant sarcasm." She said quietly.

"Yeah, that's because you're great. Most people can't be bothered to see past the spangles." Steve replied.

"Well, they are awfully shiny." She said, and then looked back at Hank.

"Are you angry with me, Audrey?" Hank asked.

"Yes." Audrey replied. "With you and Abigail both. I know you'll go on and on about how you were trying to save me, and honestly I can understand that point of view. But from my perspective, all I see is lack of trust in yourselves to be able to raise me, and a lack of trust in me in being able to learn to handle myself. For you personally, I also see a lot of self-loathing about what I'd end up looking like... Your self-image problems, your fear, got projected so far that it's really fucked up my life despite your best efforts to improve it. I can't really blame you for trying. But the course of action you took was nuts. Fucking crazy. I get that you think of all the outcomes probability-wise... But you need to start considering emotional states of others before you do shit like this. Would my life have been better had I known what was going to happen? Maybe? Probably not? I will never know. So far all it's done is made me very angry and confused." Audrey said and sighed.

"So, I want to like you, I think. Everything I know about you seems warm and charming, and entirely opposite Abigail Brand. For now though, I'm being very careful, because while my situation is pleasant and comfortable, it is not of my choosing. You and Abigail did that to me. But I want to like you. Anyone who goes back and saves Klimts gets points in my book. Speaking of books, the comic books were a nice touch. It was nice to have a working knowledge of this place." She said.

"I wasn't sure if that was going to take. I'm glad it did." Hank said, and smiled shyly.

"How did you rig something so specific like that?"

"Plant the right ideas, at the right time, with the right people, and hope for the best. Do you actually want the details, or will I just put all three of us to sleep?" Hank asked. His smiled widened.

"Point." Audrey agreed. Hank softened his expression, and leaned forward on the bed.

"I'm sorry." He said to her. "I wish things could have been different."

"I believe that." She said and nodded at him.

"I'd like very much to know you... More than I can ever express in words." He added gently.

"Possible." Audrey said. "It's a good possibility... Now, give me the gist of how my world folded into this one, and what does that mean for the people I care about?" Steve sucked in a slow breath through his teeth. Audrey's shift in focus was instant and absolute. Emotion was set carefully aside for the moment in order to absorb information. If he didn't know the warmer side of her so well by now, he might have doubted it existed if this was all he'd seen of her.

"The timelines will have blended. Your world will have settled into this one. You will have been gone from your home for as long as you've been here."

"And will my parents know I'm a mutant? Will they know about you and Abigail?" Audrey asked. Her tone was edging on sharp, but she was keeping it controlled.

"As you remember, your parents had difficulty conceiving your older brother... I gave them a miracle unbeknownst to them. From the age you appear to be now, people will have a hard time believing that I was old enough to be your father. It will remain a quirk in the timeline. But nothing of consequence." Hank said and looked down at his arms, which were now crossed over his chest.

"I... That's... Wow." Audrey said. She took a deep breath, and once again set aside her emotional reaction. "How do we explain my late bloomer status as a mutant then?" She asked. Henry looked up at her, and his arms fell to his sides in surprise. He had the same expression Tony had given her when Steve had first met Audrey. Hank liked the questions she asked.

"From what precious little my dear Abigail has shared, her father's species matures more slowly, and is longer lived than the average human lifespan. Sending you to a place where time moved faster made sense, or you would have been vulnerable much longer. Also, the nature of my mutation has morphed over time in terms of my physical appearance. It makes all kinds of sense for it to take this long to emerge." Hank said. "You can decide to tell them about your true parentage or not. I will leave that to you... But simply explain that that your absence was caused by the sudden manifestation of your mutation. It is the truth after all."

Audrey sat down on the edge of the medical bed and exhaled slowly. Home was a mere phone call away most likely. It was as much a relief as it was terrifying. She made brief eye contact with Steve, who came away from the wall and put a supportive hand on her shoulder. She leaned slightly into his touch. The contact gave her enough courage and she reached out and took Hank's hand in hers. Hank smiled again. "Tell me about yourself." He said softly.

"What do you want to know?" She asked.

"Everything." Hank said. "What's your favourite song? What was your favourite book as a child? Who is your closest friend? What food do you absolutely despise? What do you do for a living? Everything I've wondered since I had to send you away. I never stopped thinking about you."

"Favourite song is Hymn to Freedom by Oscar Peterson. Favourite book as a kid was Black Beauty. My closest friend's name is Alexa. We've known one another since she was about eight. But I have friends I've had longer than that... I hate orange flavoured chocolate. It makes me want to hurl. And for a living, I am a tattoo artist. Or I was. Not sure I'll be able to work sterile with claws and fur yet though." Audrey said, and her voice was fond.

"I have gloves for a lab work make of a specialty polymer that should work." Hank said. He'd hooked his thumb over hers.

"Of course you do." Audrey said, and grinned. "Thanks for being honest with me. Thanks for not trying to shield me from the reality of this... I'll be back in a bit. We'll talk more, but I have a few phone calls we need to make."

"Your parents, of course." Hank said, using the word easily. She liked that he wasn't trying to claim that title. "They must be out of their minds with worry."

"Yeah, I hate that they've been left to worry as long as they have." She said. "I'll come back soon. I promise."

"Of course." Hank said, all understanding and kindness, the polar opposite of Abigail. Audrey squeezed his hand and stood up. "One thing though, if you don't mind, why Black Beauty?"

"On the farm growing up, animal life was valued, but only so far as the profit to be made of it. And we were one of the more compassionate operations. The book confirmed things I already had a good idea about, that there was a world far beyond my perception, and that those without voices still had feelings to be considered. And ignoring it wasn't going to make my awareness of that go away... _Ignorance? Only ignorance? How can you talk of only ignorance? If people say 'oh, I did not know, I did not mean any harm.' they think it is all right..._ It struck a chord early and stuck with me. So while I am the absolute worst at school, I am great at learning." Audrey eyed the door, but Steve blocked her for a moment.

"You okay?" He asked.

"I'm going to ask Tony if he'll come with me. He'll make me make the call, simply because he doesn't have time for my waffling on the idea." She said. Steve smiled at that, and stepped out of the way.

"Call me if you need me." He said, and watched her slipped out of the room quietly.

"So, Hank, stolen Nazi art. Why?" Steve asked.

"Can you blame me? I'm sure you've seen what I've saved. When it comes to that project, I have no regrets whatsoever. It will do the world no harm." Hank said, and swung his legs over the side of the medical bed. He made no further moves. The drug was well out of his system now, but he was aware that he wouldn't be going anywhere for a while. "How long was I out, Cap?"

"We kept you dosed for twelve hours, until we had set up a secure perimeter around the house and transported you back to New York." Steve said amicably. He wanted to question Hank why he thought it was okay for him to decide what was going to harm the timeline or not, but he let it go for now. Reed and Tony would be all over him for that, and Steve didn't need to add his opinion to the argument. "For Audrey's sake, I'm asking you to voluntarily stay in the tower for now. She and Abigail didn't hit it off very well, and I think she's going to need your experience. In particular if those phone calls she's about to make don't go well."

"She's got a good heart, doesn't she?" Hank asked. "First impressions being what they are, she's kind, but I think she's probably formidable when pushed."

"That sounds about right. You should have seen her take Scott to the cleaners on his moral stance. He dropped in while she and I were out for a run. While she was sensible enough to stay behind me, she barked at him, Emma, and Erik like they were new recruits and she was their drill instructor. She called them on their manipulation of kids into a war that wasn't their responsibility... Beyond that, she asks these great big questions. She's funny. She has an optimistic outlook, which really, that could have gone either way after she changed. Tony's kind of in love with her. Not romantically, just, they're good for each other. He's had a hard time trusting people, and letting people trust him since, well since everything. It's good to see him make a real friend again, and with someone who hasn't been jaded by what he's done, or is actively out for their own gain."

"Were you there when her mutation manifested?" Hank asked tentatively.

"Most of it, yeah. Tony called Bruce and I in for backup. Let's just leave it at the fact that I have a whole new level of respect for what you've been through. Bruce figured out how to handle the worst of the pain, and Tony kept watch over her. He's been so good with her, hasn't let her worry much over her mutation. He's not distracting her from reality or anything. It's more a determined effort to get her to embrace it. It's been nice to see the enthusiastic side of Tony again. I've missed it." Steve said.

"I will have to thank him. It sounds like the kind of friend I could have used years ago." Hank mused.

"Not too late to start again, Hank... We'd welcome you back here." Steve said. "Tony, Bruce, and yourself could get into some extraordinary mayhem. You could call it the No Reeds Allowed Club."

"Well, perhaps not for that reason, but I will be staying close. I promise that. After everything that's gone down with the X-Men and after Broo... I left Westchester because I needed to sort some things out. I am weary of what they're doing to one another, Steve. I am usually the one left picking up the pieces, and patching up the injuries. I am so tired of seeing people I love hurt for no reason, because it doesn't seem to change anything. We switch our allegiances, we pair off with one another for distraction, and we do sometimes even save the world, but not much changes on a level that we ourselves can appreciate. I am weary of it, Steve... And you are probably not the man I should be complaining to about feeling this old." Hank said. Steve chuckled.

"We all get tired of it. I get that, Hank. I do." Steve said and Hank nodded. "Do you really think you can fix the timeline?"

"I'm getting there. I'm close."

"Then you should let Tony and the supposedly insufferable Richards help you with it." Steve said.

"I may." Hank said quietly.

"Good... Reed is cursing your name for whatever it is you did to your network in that house." Steve said. It was Hank's turn to laugh. "Tony's been catching up on work, and is going to thoroughly enjoy the moment when Reed asks him for help. So you might want to hold off on your cooperation until then. Tony will thank you for it."


	11. Born a Lion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No copyright infringement intended here. No profit being made. All our continuity are belong to Marvel. All creative rearranging of it is my fault. I take responsibility, but I make no apologies... Think of this as working with character archetypes, with continuity bits from both the comics and movies thrown in as required by the author.

Things were quiet in the room that Hank was in, so Tony satisfied himself working on his phone and conferring with JARVIS about specs and changes to projects that Pepper had been haranguing him about for weeks now. When Audrey slipped out, her face was neutral, but not in the practiced way it had been after she'd spoken with Brand.

"Are you done? That took forever." Tony said, stashing his phone in his pocket.

"Yeah, I'm done for now. But I need your help." She said. Tony looked torn. He'd been itching to get at Hank outside of Reed's presence, and Reed had taken off when a call came through that there were explosions inside the Baxter Building.

"Must be Tuesday." Tony had teased.

"Tell that to the healthy and safety hazards that you call your bots, Stark!" Reed called as he headed for the elevators, his legs stretching out and carrying him down the hallway in a matter of strides.

"Whatever. Come back when your kitchen is no longer in orbit!" Tony had hollered after him.

But now, Audrey was standing in front of him, looking a bit timid and unsure. She hadn't asked him directly for help yet, aside from the morning babysitting Mac, and that had stuck with Tony. "What's up?" He asked.

"I... need to check some things via a bit of skullduggery, and I want to make a couple of phone calls... And I don't want to be alone for it."

"Okay, but this is usually a Steve thing. He's more of a guide and nurturing type." Tony said.

"Need you to get into the social media accounts of people I know. I don't want to tip off people at home if I suddenly discover that they're biased against mutants. I'm better off not being a target, or worse putting people I love in danger because of it." Audrey explained.

"Well, that I can do." He said and grinned. He propelled himself away from the wall he'd been leaning against. Audrey wasn't upset, and had said she was coming back, so her talk with Hank had gone well. He knew Hank would probably stick around based on that alone, noble idiot he was. Still, Tony couldn't resist ducking his head into the room. "See you soon, Hank. Be here when I get back."

 

Audrey carefully looked through her own Facebook account in the workshop, while Tony scrolled through the galleries of her art and tattoo work, as well as the photos of her friends and family. "Damn, honey, you're starting to make me want ink." He said.

"How is it that a guy like you isn't tattooed? I bet you were an adorable boozy rebel when you were younger."

"I had some piercings... Extremis, a... well, I guess you could call it a technovirus, took care of physical imperfections awhile back. Haven't had time to get anything like that again. I mean, I was raised in and revelled in my conservative, establishmentarian image for a long time. In some ways, I still am that guy. But now I look more toward the Warren Buffett school when it comes to business practice and political leanings. Warren's a decent guy. Good mind on him." Tony said.

"You totally had a Prince Albert." Audrey asked. Her eyes narrowed with the gaze of a long-time outlaw to another.

"Among other things. Acquired when I was young and beautiful of course." Tony replied. "It was something I could hide easily, and well, I've always had a thing for metal."

"Oh Tony, you're still beautiful... Just... Mature. Established. That in of itself is quite sexy... But I bet it made you glad you didn't have to fly commercial." Audrey teased.

"No argument there... Who are these delightful folks?" Tony asked, scrolling through her personal photos now. So Audrey rattled off names and odd facts about her nearest and dearest. That is until she found a page that was dedicated to her disappearance. Which led to news articles, video appeals made by her family and friends, and wild speculations to her whereabouts. Thankfully no one had made the connection between her and the new blue furry mutant in New York.

She felt a little guilty when she allowed Tony to poke further into the internet search histories of people she knew, but was relieved by the results. While no one she knew was aware she was a mutant, the people closest to her didn't seem to be filled with overt hatred for them. It would probably be safe for her to contact them.

Tony was still flipping through her photos of Audrey and her friends. "God, you're all so adorable." He said. "Fucking. Cute."

"I wasn't cute. I was Peppermint Patty. Big nose. Penchant for inappropriate footwear." Audrey said. "I had great tits though." Audrey's bust line, like the rest of her body, was more streamlined now under the fur.

"I'll concede that. But you were definitely cute though. Now that you mention it, it's like looking at the Peanuts Gang all grown up." Tony said. He was looking at a photo of her on what appeared to be a New Year's Eve house party with the various shenanigans of long time friends happening, including some hilarious rounds of Cards Against Humanity. "But just think, now you can be Hobbes... Or Nala if you feel the need to Disney Princess it up."

"Hobbes." Audrey said. She grinned, baring her teeth. "I always loved Hobbes. You gonna be my Calvin?"

"I think I am already." Tony replied and laughed.

"Though, I would take Nala any day. She's awesome."

"Explain." Tony said.

"While Simba fucked off to the garden to eat worms, OpheliNala survived a shit childhood, with what might be perceived as rapey, possibly incestuous Uncle Scardius, depending on how dark you want to go. She became a provider, a fighter, and a leader despite horrible conditions. She owned it, all while Ferris Simblet Hamba Bueller lion got his shit together." She said. Tony leaned over the workbench he was at and laughed. He met her eyes.

"How did it go with Hank?" He asked.

"You were right. He's much warmer than Abigail. I want to be angry with him, but he's so... fucking likeable." She said, and shook her head.

"That sounds like the Hank I know." Tony said. "I don't think he'll try to screw you around or anything. He's been trustworthy for the most part."

"All the same, I will remain on my guard for a bit."

"That's probably wise. You want me to give him a modified Shovel Talk?" Tony asked.

"No, Tony, but I deeply appreciate that you would."

"Eh, I bet Steve's giving him one right now anyway. Who are you thinking to call first?"

"Best friend's hubby."

"That's... an interesting choice."

"Matt and I are close too. I can trust him to keep his head on straight. Also, he'll pick up on an unfamiliar phone number because he uses his cell phone for his business." She explained.

"Smart choice." Tony agreed.

 

Tony remained in the background, working quietly while Audrey made the call. She kept it to speakerphone only, and the best friend's hubby/bro wasn't so shocked that he didn't ask for proof on the sly. He dropped a few inside jokes, and the resulting rejoinders from Audrey were enough to convince him it seemed. The man on the other end of the line finally gave a sniff and cough like he was holding back tears and was trying to cover it up. "Audrey, where the fuck are you? What happened? Where do you want me to pick you up?" He asked all in a rush. Tony got quiet and still, waiting to see how Audrey would handle this sentiment.

"Oh, hun... I... I was pulled from home because I'm a mutant. It's physical. I don't look anything like I used to. I'm okay now... Just, different. I called you because I had to test the waters before I made contact with anyone else, because I know you can keep it together. I'm sorry to put this on you. But you're my best chance to avoid anyone freaking out." Audrey said.

"Okay. I understand that. Thank you for trusting me with this, but where the hell are you? Lex is going to lose her mind and demand to see you no matter what's happened." He said. Audrey looked at Tony, her eyes questioning whether she should give that away. Tony had heard the warm affection in her friend's voice and hoped that meant good things for the future of her relationships with her friends and family. He gave her an encouraging smile and nod to go ahead.

"New York." She said. "I'm in New York. I've had some good people looking after me. I'm okay now. But I warn you that the nature of the mutation is jarring at first."

"Hun, it's okay, we'll work it out. You know Lex isn't going to care. You know I won't. All she'll want to do is hug the life out of you... But why now? You're not a kid. Shouldn't this have happened before?" He asked. Tony was taking a liking to the steady voice on the other end of the line. He was gathering information to share with others, but he really did seem to care about Audrey.

"Part of the mutation. Not outside the realm of possibility is what I've been told." Audrey said, and left it at that.

"Who found you? Who are you with?"

"Now that's where it gets really interesting." Audrey said, and dropped Tony's name.

"No shit." Matt said.

"No shit. Him and Reed Richards."

"But I thought they fucking hated each other." He said. Tony had to bite down on the knuckle of his index finger to keep from laughing out loud. He was also relieved that Hank seemed to be right so far, and that the timelines had folded into one another seamlessly. Audrey not being questioned on why she was hanging out with fictional people was definitely going to make things easier.

"They were looking for someone else, but found Mac and I instead. Watching them bicker has been oddly fun." Audrey said. Matt laughed.

"We've been so worried about you." He said.

"Well it's not over yet, bud. You still haven't seen what I look like." She said.

"Speaking of which, what do I tell everyone?" He asked.

Audrey gave him a short list of instructions regarding calling off the police search for her, and arranged for he and Lex to get a Skype call going that evening with her immediate family. Matt was reluctant to end the call, worried she'd vanish again. Audrey assured him that she would pick up if he called the number she'd called him with. When she finally disconnected, after saying, and really meaning, that she loved the guy, Tony got close to Audrey. He supposed he displayed affection because he had a difficult time verbalizing it. So her being able to rattle off the words so easily was alien, and something he found himself enamoured by. He plunked down on the couch next to her, held her close, made her take a selfie with him and send it off to Matt's phone. "You did good, Hobbes." He said quietly.

"Thanks, Calvin." She replied.

 _Oh wow._ Came the response, which was followed by _ <3 you. Talk soon. Driving home now to tell Lex._

Audrey let Tony go back to the medical floor to talk to Hank, and sat in the workshop for a while, playing fetch with Tony's bots and Mac. Clint showed up before long to shake her out of her malaise and take Mac out. It felt good to get moving after a day or so without much physical activity. Clint didn't say much and didn't pressure her to say much either. It was comfortable silence, and Audrey assumed it would be the last she might get for some time.

 

Audrey asked to be back down in the workshop for the video call home. Tony agreed graciously. To him, it meant that Audrey felt safe in his space and around him, and that was a treasure in the world he lived in. She sat at one of the many computer terminals and waited for her family to connect to her.

Tony rolled around in the background on a stool, tinkering and going over the next day's agenda. He heard her sigh and tap the screen. "Hi mom. Dad." She said.

There were shouts, gasps, and tears. Audrey kept her voice soft and calm. She said the words "I'm alright." and "I'm okay." over and over. It helped that her voice was resonant and hadn't changed much despite the rest of her transformation. She kept up the lie that her X-gene activating is what had lead Tony and Reed to accidentally discovering her. She got very vague on the details though, claiming she'd been in too much shock at the time.

She got a welcome distraction in the form of Dummy when he rolled over with a box of tissues for her, and then waved at the gathered people on the screen after his claw was free. She introduced him fondly, and smiled. That warmed Tony's heart to no end. As some people formed their opinion of others by the way their dogs reacted, or by how they treated their mothers, Tony went with how decent people were to his bots. There was no earthly reason to treat the bots well as far as most people could see. They were obviously machines, and had very few human characteristics on the outside. The only reason to treat them with care was if a person generally treated all things with care, and it showed through pretty quickly.

Artists and children, people conditioned to read faces though, usually took to the bots right away, after placing the cameras set in their grasping claws as an eye. Steve had. Audrey had as well, especially once she'd seen their enthusiasm for fetch with Mac. Audrey petted Dummy and Mac in turns while she answered questions as best she could to the dozen or so people gathered to speak with her.

Tony only felt the need to step in when Audrey's brother started making dissenting noises, worried about the reputation a mutant in the family brought, and how it might affect the rest of them. Tony collected a couple of beers from the fridge, and then slowly rolled the mechanic's stool over to Audrey and into the frame visible to her family. He spun as did so for comedic effect. Audrey grinned and rolled her eyes.

"Hi." He said, and returned the grin. "How's it going?"

"Could be worse?" Audrey replied.

"Still not a great answer."

"It's the one I have for now." She said.

"Oh fine. Here, provisions." He said and handed her one of the beers. She introduced Tony, and her family was still too shocked by Audrey's appearance to be very star-struck by Tony Stark. He set about distracting them by filling in some details of how they'd found Audrey in distress while looking for someone else, and had brought her to them in order to help her out. He easily pulled them away from her brother's negative thoughts. He spoke with easy charm about her new abilities and even more about her artistic skill, trying to remind them that she was the same as she had always been. "Oh, by the way, I had the Avengers legal team come up with a contract with you for merch design. I'll make sure you get it, and I can get you someone independent to look it over for you. Murdock would probably do me a favour, if only to keep my greedy little mitts off of your intellectual property."

"Thanks Tony." Audrey said quietly.

But when the subject of work came up, it brought the subject of returning with it. Tony could plainly see that it was breaking everyone's heart for her to explain that Manhattan was the safer option for the foreseeable future. Tony interjected, saying that visits were welcome, and that they would definitely have a free place to stay, to try and soften the blow. Audrey's mom, a sweet, if set in her ways kind of person, took the news the hardest. Followed closely by her friend Lex. She told them that she loved them, but that where she was safest for now, especially with mutant terrorists at large. Tony noted her brother's obvious relief, and started thinking up ridiculous revenge plans, largely involving putting his underpants in cryogenic freezing. No, rigging his underwear drawer with a cryogenic freezing unit. Yes, that would do nicely.

Audrey's father was largely silent. He was leaning forward, his hands clasped together with white knuckles. His eyes showed conflict, and Tony could see that he was trying very hard to not cry or have some kind of outburst of temper. What was alien to Tony was the depth of emotion he clearly had over this revelation, and the fact that he made no attempt to hide it. He looked like a man helpless against the world, and he was scared and angry about it. Howard had probably never felt anything so deeply about anything concerning Tony, and he certainly hadn't shown it.

Then Audrey addressed her father directly and his face softened. His eyes lit up, but Tony could tell it was only for show. He was holding it together for her. She asked him if he was okay, and when he replied that he was, she pretended to believe him, though they both knew differently. There wasn't animosity though. She was keeping it together for him as much as he was for her. "You would have a ball in the shop here, dad." She said to distract him. "There's an awesome '67 Shelby Cobra here. Blue. Definitely the real deal and not a kit."

"Of course it's the real deal." Tony replied. "It's actually my second one. The first one was Howard's... It... Met with an accident." Audrey's dad cringed playfully, and Tony decided he liked this family for the most part. He was definitely going to commit underwear related prankery on her brother though. Maybe he would even get Audrey to help.

They had only safely ended the call when the alarm buzzed for the Avengers to assemble once again. "Oh for the love of shit. I've got a meeting with R&D in the morning." Tony grumbled. "Audrey, same plan as last time. I'll send Hank up to the penthouse with you, if you don't mind."

"You got it." She said. "I should talk more with him anyway."

 

Audrey followed the same procedure. She took Mac out, and then went up to the penthouse. It was comfortable and close to Banner's Hulk room if she needed it. She knew she would never mention these moments of dread to her family as they were worried enough about her. Hank turned up, and she was a little surprised at how quickly she set him at ease. She could scent the pheromones in the room, and wondered if Hank had control of it, and made a note to ask him later.

"Is the worry always this bad?" She asked after she'd sat down with him on the couch.

"For non-combatants? Yes." Hank replied. "You can see why Abigail sought to protect you... And in the same thought, I understand if you resent me for it."

"I don't resent you... Okay, I'm trying not to." Audrey replied softly. "I spoke to my parents. They're... It's weird. But they haven't demanded my pelt for a rug or anything."

"That's good. They were good people when I found them, Audrey."

"They still are. Not perfect, I mean. But good people." She said.

"I enjoy your straightforward practicality. It's refreshing. I bet Tony likes it too." Hank said.

"There must have been some heavy shit go down if simple honesty and good humour are valued so highly by eccentric, genius, superheroes." She said.

"To say the least." Hank agreed.

"Tell me." She said. "Everyone else seems to know but me."

"A side effect of the process, and for that I am sorry, but I can tell you the basics about what has happened here in the last few years." Hank said. So he started in and told her about the Superhuman Registration Act, about the division between Steve and Tony. He told her about Steve's assassination, and return, and the fact that he hadn't quite figured that out yet, other than Steve possibly existing outside of time as a real thing.

"I'm just glad they can be friends again. The entire world is off kilter when those two clash over a moral issue. I think if they could have had time, and a quiet place, they could have worked it out between them. But there were so many other factors in play. The division between Wolverine and Cyclops being one of the largest... But when the two of them are working together, the world is definitely better for it."

"Speaking of mutant issues, I have a question for you."

"Ask me anything." Hank said gamely. He was pleased that she would. "Except to attempt Scottish dancing or incest. I think those are my only absolute taboos." Audrey shook her head and laughed while Hank pulled a mock disgusted face. When they calmed, Audrey tilted her head slightly.

"What is it like out there for you? For us, I mean. Can we get around safely?"

"Some places are safer than others. I won't lie. Some places are still quite hostile. New York is pretty good. People in cities this large tend to ignore a lot, but that changes in more rural areas, sadly. Western Europe and Canada tend to be relatively safe. Less developed nations tend to have more of a stigma against physical mutation. But since I tend to move in social circles that are more accepting than the norm, I don't have as many problems as I could have. For the average mutant on the street, things can be hard. Recently, when our numbers were down to extinction levels of low, it was a dangerous time to be a mutant, especially a visible one." Hank explained.

"How did they get that way? How did the population recover?" Audrey asked. Hank concluded that Rogers' observation about Audrey's questions was indeed correct. He explained about the M-Day extinction event, and how Wanda Maximoff might be one of the few mutants more disliked than himself.

"We still haven't fully, which is part of the reason I've chosen to remove myself from the differing factions. I became so weary because the ones I love were getting hurt and worse because of an argument that will never be over."

"That's sort of what I assumed when I was talking to Cyclops." Audrey said and grinned, baring her teeth proudly for a change.

"Steve mentioned that." Hank said. "Your actions were both brave and somewhat insane."

"Must run in the family then." Audrey teased. "Besides, when you have Captain America watching over you, you have fewer concerns for your safety than you might have otherwise."

As if on cue in the moment of silence, JARVIS announced an incoming call from Phil Coulson. "Got a bottle of Malbec waiting on the bar for you get back, buddy." Audrey said warmly.

"I appreciate that very much. Ms. Whelan, we were wondering if we might be able to use your nose." Coulson said.

"My... nose?" Audrey asked.

"A building has collapsed on Iron Man. The area is still being secured and it will take hours for rescue crews to assess and start digging. The building itself was a think tank for experimental tech. Conventional means won't be effective as there are plenty of heat and electronic signatures in the rubble. Sniffer dogs may not be able to identify a human scent in the pressurized environment of the Iron Man armor. So, your sensitive nose, which I assume has had enough contact with the armor to track it, would be very useful at the moment. We would prefer to locate him as soon as possible so we can utilize the Hulk to start the excavation."

"Okay, just let me crate Mac." Audrey said quietly and nodded. She called the dog to her side, and patted him warmly.

"I'll meet you at the tower's launch deck." Coulson said.

 

Hank was waiting for her in gear that looked like he'd been in situations like this before, and was well equipped to handle them. Much more of his fur was on display than the more casual clothing she'd seen until this point. "My nose isn't as good as it was before my mutation stabilized, but I should be able to help." He said. A moment later, Coulson showed up, and Audrey's eyes went wide. He was still in his usual suit and sunglasses, despite the late hour. Coulson had arrived in a red 1962 Corvette, that very obviously had flight capability. Audrey blinked several times as Coulson lowered the car elegantly down to the floor.

"Hop in. This is Lola. Don't mess with her. I'm rather attached." Coulson said and gave her his best Mona Lisa smile. "Wasn't expecting you, Dr. McCoy."

"I can help." Hank said. "It would feel good to help."

"Is that you signing on to be an active member of the Avengers again?"

"Positively maybe. For now, how about volunteer consultant?"

"All right. We'll work out the insurance paperwork later." Coulson said.

"You're going to like this." Hank said to her, and leapt into the centre rear seat, leaving the passenger seat for her. Audrey got in the car, her face still showing her astonishment, but she trusted Phil to keep her safe. Hank dug into a kit bag he was carrying, and handed Audrey a pair of goggles over the seat. "Take these. They contain a back up communication device, and there's a scrolling info stream inside that will tell you if you encounter anything harmful in the way of chemicals or fumes in the air. And they will rest firmly under feline ears comfortably. I adapted a pair I used to use." Hank said all in a rush. "I also have an oxygen mask that will fit your face in case anything happens." Audrey turned and smiled at him softly.

"Thanks, Henry." She said.

"Belt in. No exceptions." Coulson said.

"The car fucking flies. No argument there." Audrey quipped, and fastened herself in. As soon as she did, they were gone, though Coulson only pulled one very sharp turn as they exited the tower. Once Audrey got her breath back, she sang the end of Lola by The Kinks at the top of her lungs. Hank laughed. Coulson smirked.

"We still have intermittent communication with Iron Man, but only at timed intervals as he's trying to conserve power to the suit while he scans the area to find out what kind of resources and oxygen supply he has. The suit is pressurized as you know, and has a decent supply of oxygen, and can filter air from the environment if needed. The space he's in is fairly tight. McCoy, Romanov, and I will attempt to wrangle the Hulk to get most of the digging done after you've pinned down his location in the rubble. You just point us in the right direction." Coulson explained.

"I wasn't informed I would be on Hulk duty." Hank said mildly.

"Not exactly, Dr. McCoy. We could use you to observe the wreckage that the Hulk will be moving, and ensure that he doesn't dislodge anything that will bring harm to Iron Man. Black Widow and I will handle direct interaction with the Hulk if he proves to be uncooperative."

"You'll be trying to herd the Hulk." Hank said. "Have you ever tried to quantify the size of the massive testicles you must have, Agent Coulson? I mean, are they standard issue for SHIELD, a requirement for employment, or do they get awarded to you on promotion?"

Coulson smirked again and brought Lola down lower to the ground. Audrey could see the ash and smoke trailing up into the air, and her nose was already starting to detect the scent of the Iron Man suit. She hadn't focused her nose like this yet, mainly to avoid unpleasant scents so far, but she found she could easily, and it surprised her. She caught her first glimpse of the Hulk, and saw that Natasha was trying to fend him off from ripping into the debris.

The very sight of the Hulk, towering, green, and barely containing himself gave Audrey pause. There was nothing like seeing this in real time, and she gave herself a second to adjust to this new reality. Coulson put a friendly hand on her shoulder. "Normally it's Stark who distracts and brings the Hulk in line to accomplish useful things, so we'll have to be careful. Despite outward appearances, his control is remarkable, but not perfect. We can take comfort in the fact that we are digging out Iron Man though. The Hulk should remain on task until his buddy is out and flying again. It will help to remain as calm as possible though."

Audrey took a breath, and thought of every scared animal she'd had to deal with growing up, and how she'd had to control her own reactions in order to avoid making the situation worse. She took another deep breath, and calmed her body language. "Okay, I'll try." She agreed.

Coulson brought Lola down well out of sight of the Hulk. Once on the ground, and in sight of him though, Audrey had to redouble her efforts relax her mind and focus on the needed scents. She could detect the suit's propulsion systems, and the stronger scent of the weapons systems that she'd only caught a whiff of when they were in the air. The Hulk loomed, and Natasha was speaking to him softly, and stroking the back of his hand. Audrey looked up into his face, but not directly into his eyes in an aggressive manner. "Hi." She said to him. "I'm a friend of Tony. He's been very kind to me, and I'd like to repay the favour. But I'll definitely need your help." She spoke as quietly as the situation would allow. The Hulk bent at the waist, sniffing her and almost touching her, and Audrey did her best to breathe and remain calm. She held up her right hand. "You can touch, it's okay. But I'm fragile compared to you." She said. Hulk's massive finger brushed her the side of her face and neck with surprising tenderness.

"Classic move, showing trust. Good call." Hank murmured into the com unit. Audrey ignored him while the Hulk made contact.

"Soft." Hulk said. "Find Tony?"

"Yes. We will. Did you see where he went down?" She asked, trusting his intelligence. The Hulk nodded. "Show me, please." She said with a politeness that could only be paralleled by Coulson or a fellow Canadian. The Hulk moved off slowly to the Southeast corner of the building.

Audrey's feet were sure over the rubble, her balance steady. She made calculated steps, and was taking in long breaths to track the strongest source of the scent of the Iron Man armor. She had to do a bit of a scramble over pile of shattered concrete, but was glad of the boots Tony had made her. Her hands were bare though, and she missed a set of sturdy work gloves, if only to keep dirt out of her fur.

Bruce's alter ego was impatient while Audrey sniffed around, but Natasha and Coulson stayed close, distracting him. Audrey took a slow inhale of breath, and instinctively used her tongue to push air back up into her nose. She closed her eyes and turned. The Hulk stamped and roared. "It's okay, big guy." Audrey said as calmly as she could. She opened her eyes and tried to school her expression into ease. "This way. I think I got him." She said, and headed part way down the rubble pile. The Hulk followed her and shifted himself around it; sniffing and hopping like an anxious gorilla. Audrey hadn't progressed to the level of exotics in her schooling, but she'd seen enough nature documentaries to see the similarities in behaviour.

"Hey! Audrey! So glad that Coulson invited you to the party." Tony's voice crackled a bit in her ear.

"Tony! Are you okay?" She asked.

"Yes, for now. You'll just have to watch out for a massive old steel girder. If it gets levered the right way, I'll be my own saw an Iron Man in half magic show. You got a whiff on where I am?"

"Yeah, Tony, but you're deep I think. Sit tight."

"I think I'm in the basement, otherwise I would have blasted my own damn way out. Fucking bored though."

"How is your air and power supply?" Audrey asked. She knew Coulson would want an update.

"Good good. There is a steady stream of almost fresh air according to JARVIS, so I should comfortably have hours... If I don't die of boredom first." Tony said and sighed dramatically.

"How about a game?"

"What kind of game?"

"Word games are a good distraction. Especially when you have nothing to do by lay around and think." Audrey suggested.

"I hate word games. Can we do something with math instead?" Tony asked.

"I have one I think you'll like. Besides, you can consider it a challenge, as it's something I might actually have a chance at winning." Audrey said.

"Okay, shoot. I'm desperate here." Tony said.

"Okay, take a well known phrase, song title, song lyric, etc, with the world heart in it, and replace it with the word dick. Example: Don't Go Breaking My Dick." Audrey explained. A peel of laughter filled her ear.

"Oh shit. That's fun." Tony said and chuckled. "What are your feelings on a May-December marriage, Hobbes? Small ceremony in the Hamptons or on the Rivera? Of course we could do something more elaborate. I am, after all, young at dick."

"Don't try to distract me with your shenanigans, Stark. I am going to win this one. My dick will go on." She said. Tony laughed again. Audrey waved Hulk over and pointed at particular mound of debris. "Go slow, big guy, or we may end up hurting him."

"Bravedick." Tony said over the com, mirth clear in his tone.

"I'm so glad we can have this dick to dick chat." Audrey said.

"Well, I am emotionally compromised here. My dick is on my sleeve." Tony said.

"It's okay, Tony. I'll keep it close to my dick."

"Oh, don't be such a bleeding dick... Also, um, ow. SO much ow on that visual." Tony said, laughing easily.

"Take it easy, you'll give yourself a dick attack... Also, ow on that visual too." Audrey agreed.

"To honour my Canadian pal, I present Closer to the Dick by Rush." Tony said in the smooth voice of a radio host.

"To give you a little relief, I will recommend you to the Dick and Stroke Foundation." Audrey said. She wasn't quite certain, but she thought she heard Barton snort over the com unit in her ear.

"I bet you're a Nirvana fan, you're the right age for it... Dick-Shaped Box." Tony said.

"Oh the things I could tell you about my dick-shaped box." Audrey said. They both lost themselves to laughter for a moment.

"Seriously, marry me." Tony said when he caught his breath.

"No. Don't have the dick for it." She replied, then caught the Hulk's attention to move his efforts slightly off to the side.

"Come on, I'm buried under a building. The least you could do is give the honour of your paw in marriage. If you don't I'll die of a broken dick." Tony said.

"No, I told you I want to win. Quit distracting me. I am not your Queen of Dicks." She said.

"You are so lucky that it was Audrey who said that first, Stark." Natasha said.

"Aren't I? Such a relief. I mean it, marriage, Audrey. Cross my dick and hope to die."

"You are so wholesome. Like a tourism commercial for Dickland, America." Audrey retorted.

"I think I was forced to go to a conference there once. It's in Utah. Very righteous... Bless your little dick." Tony said.

"I can feel your love for the place. It's like you have your dick in your mouth."

"Hey, don't knock Yoga. It does wonders." Tony said. "Ah, you're someone after my own dick, Hobbes."

"Please, Tony, now is not the time to be pouring your dick out to me." Audrey said.

"How is it not? I've already proposed marriage. Three times. You wound me right to my dick and soul."

"I'm sure you will get through the anguish of your heavy dick." She shot back, and they both had to pause to catch their breath over their giggles.

Hank, for his part, had stayed close to the bottom of the rubble pile in order to keep a path clear in case Tony had to be carried out. His mind was on autopilot, and he had to assume that the rest of the Avengers were as well. He was reminded of a camaraderie he'd long since forgotten about, when in the early days with Charles, the X-Men had bonded closely. The mutual understanding of being a mutant had brought with it deep friendships and warm memories. He almost ached for that feeling of someone being right next to him to help him dig out from life's messes, and keep him laughing while it happened. He wondered precisely where the X-Men had lost that feeling over the course of time. He was trying to not read too heavily into the scene before him, but the metaphor was quite apparent.

"How can you doubt my sincerity, Hobbes? I will take you down to the courthouse as soon as I'm out of here. I swear to you, from the bottom of my dick." Tony said.

"Shotgun wedding? Oh keep that up and you may steal my dick yet, Calvin." Audrey said, as she redirected the Hulk again.

"It would be great. Courthouse. Then we could have a quiet party at the tower. After all, home is where the dick is." Tony mused.

"Let it never be said that you aren't good at getting to the dick of the matter." Audrey said flatly.

"See? You know my dick is in the right place. This could be a beautiful thing."

"Look Tony, my dick goes out to you, it really does, but I'm still not convinced."

"Oh for the love of shit, please tell me that JARVIS is recording all of this?" Clint interrupted and started howling laughing.

"Handled. I'll send you the audio file. I am known to have a dick of gold." Tony said.

"Yes, it's all very dick-warming." Audrey dead-panned back.

"Of course it is. Even when I have a building on top of me, I look after all of them out of the goodness of my dick." Tony said. "I could do the same for you." Audrey couldn't see him, but knew he'd be waggling his eyebrows at her like a Marx brother.

"Keep up with the ego, and she might have change of dick if you're not careful." Steve offered from somewhere beyond where Audrey could see. Even Natasha ducked her head to avoid outright laughing at that.

"Steve, I will take that advice to dick. I will not lose dick. Audrey, I swear I will do what I have to do keep you. Please find it in your dick to forgive my over eager self." Tony said, full of hyperbole. Audrey shook her head.

"Sure, Tony, keep talking to your dick's content. At least we know your brain is still working. Hey! Whoa big guy! That girder might be our X marks the spot. Slow, easy now." Audrey said. "Can you hear us now, Tony?"

"Not sure. I can feel you guys for sure. Give a shout." Tony said. Audrey grinned at that, pitched her head up, and suddenly roared as loudly as she could. Even in the destruction and noise of the city, the sound carried. Tony laughed.

"Yeah, you're close. There's dust shifting around the suit now. Just be careful. Don't need my dick skipping a beat or anything." Tony said.

"Well, your line of work isn't for the faint of dick." Audrey quipped.

"I'll be fine. Eat your dick out and all that bravado... Better yet eat _my_ -"

"Red light, Tony." Natasha interjected. "Asking for a blow job isn't going to get her to set her dick on you, no matter how much crushed by a building sympathy you have right now. Blow jobs should be offered, not asked for."

"Ah Tasha, your good counsel, based on Stark Industries and SHIELD sexual harassment policies warms the cockles of my dick." Tony said.

"Okay big guy, that piece there." Audrey said, and then pointed. The Hulk had pulled the girder clear, instead of wedging it out to remove the concrete slab as well. He strained against the concrete with a roar.

"Move butt, puny tin man!" The Hulk shouted. Finally able to get his knees under him, Tony scrabbled out of the hollow space he'd been pinned in. He would have flown out, but the odd position had left him disoriented. He got to his knees and tried to steady himself.

"Oh hell." Tony said through the suit. "Let it be known, that in my dick of dicks, I hate all cave-like things... Glad to be out. Thanks all. Much thanks. Who missed me?" The faceplate of the armor flipped up and met Audrey's eyes.

"We all did... Because as I'm sure you know, absence makes the dick grow fonder." She replied and grinned at him.

"Marry me." Tony insisted.

"No." She replied and offered him a hand to help him to his feet.


	12. Cross My Heart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No copyright infringement intended here. No profit being made. All our continuity are belong to Marvel. All creative rearranging of it is my fault. I take responsibility, but I make no apologies... Think of this as working with character archetypes, with continuity bits thrown in for lolz.

Audrey grabbed Hank once they were back at the tower before he could retreat to wherever it was they had him staying. The active members of the Avengers were tied down to a debriefing, so Audrey claimed that she needed a glass of wine and company to drink it with.

Hank blinked at her a few times, as if he was quite sure he believed her, but his body language softened and he followed her. She boldly went to bar the bar in Tony's penthouse and opened a bottle, figuring she'd earned it. She poured two glasses and set one down in front of Hank. "I've never been near anything like that." She admitted and let out slow breath.

"It can be traumatic." Hank said. "You handled yourself deftly though."

"Thanks... I don't know if Tony was trying to distract me, or if the word bored is interchangeable with the word scared for him." She said.

"Quite possibly both." Hank said, and his eyes crinkled at the corners as he grinned. "He really does have an aversion to all cave-like structures. Not that anyone could blame him."

"I suppose not." Audrey agreed. "Can I ask you a question, Henry?"

"I believe you already have the rules on that." Hank replied.

"The Klimts you took. How did you rescue chunks of a ceiling from a building?" She asked. Hank's eyes sparkled in delight at the question. Audrey had a knowledge of where the works had come from and why they were important, and he wasn't exactly sure why, but it made him ridiculously happy that that was the case.

"I shrank them, essentially. It made transport much easier."

"What?" Audrey asked, incredulous at the answer.

"It's a variation of what I used to transport you to safety with the Whelans. Simply put, I have a shrink ray that works down to a sub-atomic level." Hank said. Audrey gaped at him.

"Bullshit." She said.

"No bullshit, I swear. I'll show you if and or when I get my equipment back. It's invaluable for medical technology. We can repair damage on the cellular level, at the atomic level... It's not available to the wider medical community yet, as there is too much potential to weaponize it or use it for something nefarious." Hank said.

"No shit." Audrey said and shook her head slowly, as if she still didn't believe him, but wasn't going to argue with his delusion.

"You think I'm a mad scientist." Hank said.

"A bit, yeah." She said.

"I'm sure that Tony's informed you, but the Shi'ar Empire, an alien race, has technology far beyond even the spectacular things that Tony can concoct at this point. I've made some contacts among them, and they've been generous with their time and resources. It's how I move you to a pocket dimension while you were still in utero, and also how I kept Broo alive, though sometimes I doubt if I should have done that." Hank explained.

"Tell me about Broo. You taught him at the Xavier School, right? You must have some fantastic stories about that place." Audrey said. She was aiming for conversation now, not just plying him for information.

"Well, it's the Jean Grey School now, but yes, it was a wonderful place to be much of the time. Broo, like a lot of children, surprised the hell out of me. Within the Brood species, he's a mutant like us, and but so far is one of a kind. He was lonely for sure, but he never dwelled on it, and managed to make some friends worth having at the school."

"Tony said that he was a great kid." Audrey said, and gave Hank an encouraging smile.

"He was, and his loyalty to his friends remains intact despite the changes in his personality. All I've ever wanted of my students is to foster the goodness in them. I never thought I was much of a fighter or soldier. But with kids like Broo, I thought, I hoped, that that would be my legacy. I like to think that they've done me as much and more good than I've done for them. They kept me from wallowing, kept me hopeful. Broo was one of many remarkable young minds that saw me as worthy of their time, and as someone they could trust." Hank said, and sipped quietly at the glass of wine Audrey had poured for him.

"Shit." Audrey said. "I had maybe three teachers in all of my schooling that cared like that. I used to spend a lot of time bored, so I'd schlub through on C's on account of them knowing I was smarter than my effort showed... But I can't imagine any of my teachers having your attitude, especially after what you've been through."

Hank laughed in a tired, high way that showed he was on the edge of cracking. "Thank you... I wish I could have been there to help you like that as well, Audrey. I feel horribly guilty that I wasn't."

"Well good." Audrey said, but kept her tone light and teasing. "Honestly, Henry, I had great start in life. I really did. My family is pretty awesome all things considered. You... You did what you thought was best. You did it to ensure my safety. I get that. A baby is a far different thing to deal with than a teenage student."

"I'm not sure I could even handle that right now. I just want to hide in a lab somewhere forever. There were fantastic experiences at the school, but I could sit here and start rhyming off an equally lengthy list of horrible things that happened there over the years... Which I won't because that's just too depressing. I feel like a pebble in a well for all the real-world difference I've made." Hank said and sighed.

"Tell me about it." Audrey said and smirked as best as her feline features would allow. Hank's sad expression became curious. "Look, I've lived over a quarter of my life outside of the dimension I was supposed to be in, and I'm pretty sure that this dimension didn't miss me at all. At least you got to make a ripple on the surface, to follow the metaphor... If my presence here didn't matter for a quarter of a century, Hank, what does that say about the rest of my life? Will it matter if I stay here, looking as I do, in a very imperfect world? Ultimately, probably not. All my legacy will be is how I treated the people who are left behind after I'm gone..." Audrey said, but smiled as she did. Hank looked like he was going to protest, but Audrey held a hand up to silence him.

"Hank, I'm talking to a guy who has helped save the world multiple times. I'm freeloading with another guy and his buddies who have done the same thing. What am I compared to _that?_ I don't know. I may never know. But the rest of the adorable nutcases that hang out here seem to think it's a good idea for me to stick around. So I'll borrow that for a while, trust, and take their word for it. It's fucking scary, but since the prospect of not being anywhere remains unappealing, I'll stay here. I lucked out and ended up with people who want me around. The rest will sort itself out. It could be the opportunity to do something really extraordinary, so I would be stupid not to take it." Audrey grinned and gave Hank a dismissive little shrug.

Hank looked at her, and then brought one of his massive, intimidating hands over his eyes for a moment. He shuddered out a breath, lowered his hand, and pulled Audrey into a tentative embrace. Audrey, well conditioned to Tony's behaviour now, went willingly and hugged him back. "You're more than I could ever have hoped for." Hank murmured. "Thanks for being comfortable enough to call me Hank."

"Less syllables. I'm a fan of economy of language." Audrey said. Hank laughed at the contradiction of her statement.

"No tranq dart this time?" Hank asked into the crook of her neck. Audrey laughed softly.

"Not this time. Clint is very protective of those things." She replied. Hank squeezed her more tightly for a moment and laughed low in his throat.

They parted after the wine was gone for some much-needed sleep, and Hank was left wondering how he'd ever thank Tony and Reed for the opportunity to finally meet his lost child.

 

When she awoke mid-afternoon to Mac shuffling around, Audrey crawled out from under the covers and gave the dog a warm pat. "What do you say big guy, should we try to escape for a bit this afternoon?" She asked him. Mac's adoring eyes were answer enough for her.

She tried to keep Mac as quiet as possible on the way to the communal kitchen, assuming that most of the team and Hank would still be down for the count. She was met with the sight of Pepper Potts, who seemed to be on the winning side of an argument with the coffeemaker. She looked up at Audrey and Mac and smiled without reserve. "Hello, Audrey." She said, and Audrey nodded in return.

"Ms. Potts." She said.

"Pepper. Anybody that Tony warms up to like he has to you gets to call me Pepper. He can be like a choosy cat about who he latches on to." Pepper replied. Audrey smiled at her.

"Coffee seems a bit pedestrian for the CEO of a major corporation." Audrey observed.

"It's for Tony. I had his meeting with R&D moved to an hour from now so he could get some sleep. I figure that having a building fall on top of you warrants moving a meeting and having someone make coffee for you." She said dryly and Audrey grinned. "My afternoon is free. Would you like to get out of the tower for a bit and get lunch? There's a fantastic little place nearby and if we sit on their patio, we can bring Mac."

"That would be really lovely." Audrey agreed. She knew a job interview when she saw one. Pepper Potts had been in the comics too, and she knew that saying no to a friendly Pepper was a bad idea. She definitely wanted to be on the same side as her. "If you think it's safe enough for us, sure I'd love to go."

"I'm sure it will be fine. The bistro is definitely close enough for any of the Avengers to get to us should we encounter trouble." Pepper assured.

"Okay then, I'm in. So, is this a job interview or a shovel talk?" Audrey said, testing the waters of Pepper's sense of humour.

"A little of both, so don't be late. I'll meet you in the lobby in ten minutes. I just have to go raise the dead first." Pepper said, pleased with herself, and headed back to the penthouse with a steaming mug of coffee in her hand.

Audrey was glad for the new length of her legs as they made their way to the bistro. Tall, lean, Pepper Potts walked like she meant it, as did every other New Yorker. Mac trotted along boldly between them, happy as could be, tongue lolling out in the air. Again, there were looks and double takes, but no one showed any aggression to Audrey, and she was relieved.

Pepper didn't even give the staff a chance to question Audrey's presence, and requested a table in the corner of the wrap around patio, that led off to a quieter side street. The table was next to barriers that cut if off from the rest of the sidewalk, and had overflowing planters that further blocked the view of passerby. If not perfect cover, it felt like she was hidden from stares, and that let Audrey relax. Pepper clearly had her needs figured out even before she did, and she could easily see why she was so invaluable to Tony.

Audrey nosed delicately at the flowers in the planters after they were seated and Mac had settled. She found her nose was in a state of hyper-awareness since having to nose Tony out under the rubble, but in this instance, she didn't mind. Flowers still smelled lovely. Another constant.

"First of all, thank you for helping dig Tony out. Not everyone makes pals with the Hulk on the first try." Pepper said.

"You're welcome, but really, it's the least I could have done. The Hulk did all the heavy lifting." Audrey replied.

"It's probably more than many people who found themselves in your situation would have done. I admit that it has set my mind at ease. Both in regard to how you relate to Tony and the fact that he got out much more quickly."

Audrey's gaze narrowed a little as she mulled over Pepper's words. "Relate to Tony... You were or are suspicious of my intentions?" Audrey asked, looking confused.

"Tony has had some odd friends in the past. Friends that have hurt him. Friends that he's let hurt him. He has a flawed sense of what real affection and friendship are." Pepper said. She was trying to come off as practical, and possibly a little hard, but Audrey could see the concern for her friend behind Pepper's eyes.

"Ah, well... I can tell you that I have a less flawed perception of what a real friend is, and so far, Tony has been a very good one. If you're planning on a shovel talk, you can save it for now. I have no romantic or financial interest in Tony. I plan on working for my keep, despite me being shanghaied to this place... I like Tony, despite the fact that he and Richards fucked up my life beyond repair." Audrey looked down at her hands. "I don't think I can go home again, or even back to my chosen career. Hell, I don't even think I can masturbate in a way that's familiar anymore." Audrey said. Pepper's hand went to her mouth to smother the worst of her outburst of laughter.

"I'm sorry." Pepper said, but Audrey waved her off and grinned.

"It's okay, Pepper. That's what I was going for... I know what happens to me, at least for the foreseeable future, is probably inevitable. Either way, I can't change what's already happened. So I'm just going to go forward from here. I'm not playing a long game of revenge. Because a lot of this is awesome." Audrey said and held her hand palm up, her claws glinted in the afternoon light. "Masturbation issues aside of course."

Pepper laughed lightly as the server approached and Audrey left the decision about the wine to Pepper's more educated palate. The server attempted genuine friendliness, because really, Audrey had to suppose that she wasn't that out of place in New York, and was soon on her way. "I'm not only worried about Tony, though my loyalty lies with him." Pepper said once they were alone. "I know he can put people off, or pressure them by coming on too strong. I don't want Tony to hurt you either."

"Oh, you mean his touchy-feely lunatic flirt monster routine? Yeah, it sort of put me off at first until I realized that he does that with everyone he likes... Except for Clint. But there's a weird bromance there that they don't even know is happening... Once I understood he does it to feel normal, and to make others feel normal, especially me now with my haute couture Grover look, I was reasonably assured that it was just flirting. It's not... sexual... At least at this point it isn't." Audrey said.

"You seem remarkably sure of that." Pepper said. She seemed fascinated to know how Audrey had come to this conclusion. Audrey tapped the side of her nose gently.

"I can... Well, I can detect pheromones now, Pepper. I can tell that you're a little scared of this situation, and me, but that you're fighting against that because like hell you're going to let a little fear stop you from doing anything. I can smell the stress of your concern. But I know that your curiosity is winning out, mostly because masturbation jokes really are good icebreakers. I'm also learning that I can detect arousal, which I am learning to ignore out of polite necessity. Tony doesn't... Well let's just say that the flirting is platonic." Audrey said, her expression a bit shy.

"Can you pick up on lying yet? Because I could really use that skill in some meetings I have with government representatives." Pepper said, and Audrey laughed. "I'm relieved that you're on the same page with Tony. So often, being his friend requires what amounts to a psychic ability."

"I like Tony... And while I have a soft spot for independent thinking, funny jerks, because let's face it, we can smell our own; it doesn't mean I tend to fall head over heels for them. Not without a significant amount of time spent weighing the consequences." Pepper smiled at her while the wine arrived and was poured for them.

"Can I borrow you to teach my nieces about dating?" Pepper asked after they placed their food orders.

"Sure, but I warn you, I am the cool aunt or mom's friend that will make the girls in your life want tattoos by age sixteen. I don't consider myself a bad role model, just not what a parent might want for their kid given my day job." Audrey said. Pepper laughed lightly.

"Given what that this world deals with alien invasions and super villains, I don't think them wanting tattoos is the biggest problem they'll face in their lives." Pepper replied.

"Well then, sure. No worries. Kids are great." Audrey said and grinned.

"About your day job, are you genuinely interested in the position that Tony is creating for you?"

"For now, I would say yes. I'm well used to working within a theme to please a client... And I wouldn't have to worry about stupid fucking hipster birds." Audrey said.

"Hipster birds?" Pepper asked, eyebrows raised. Audrey grinned.

"You and Thor have something in common." She said as she pulled up the image on her phone. "Imagine every ridiculous special snowflake in horn rims and painted-on, sperm count killing jeans wanting this embedded in your skin. Same image. All the hipsters. All of them. So, the choice of what I want to create within a theme? Especially when that theme is comic book heroes I grew up loving? It's kind of like getting exactly what I wanted for my birthday, Pepper." Audrey said. Pepper laughed lightly and raised her glass to Audrey.

"It really does sound like a fun project." Pepper agreed, and Audrey raised her glass in return. "I would also like to be able to consult with you on visuals for SI's advertising campaigns. You're age group is the target demographic for our personal tech."

"I'll be my own furry focus group." Audrey said.

"Nonsense. Tony showed me your online gallery. You're very talented."

"Skilled. It takes a lot of practice to be this mediocre." Audrey said and Pepper rolled her eyes.

"You sound like Steve... Speaking of fur, how are you adjusting? There must be some very strange things here for you."

"Honestly, I don't know yet. It's been much better since I got to speak to my family to let them know I'm okay. The dysmorphia is still an issue. I wake up in a state of disbelief. It's going to take awhile... I know that it's not as bad as it might be, and that's why I make light of it... But the adjustment is huge. I should talk to Hank about it, I guess. But I don't know that he's handled it much better than I am. I was never much of a pretty girl, Pepper. And that was fine. Mostly I've only ever got second looks because of my tattoos. Getting second looks because of this is different. This could lead to a lonely life, which is probably why I'm so willing to take Tony's friendship at face value. I won't be able to squander genuine connections with others who can see past the fur... And I really do like Tony. He's fucking fun to hang out with." Audrey looked down at her hands, and flexed her free one. She was getting a feel for the strength in it now, having dug her claws too hard into her palms a few times while sleeping.

"I assure you, that once Tony makes a friend, he keeps them, almost to the point of possessiveness. When you call, he'll always pick up. In fact, he'll usually be the one calling you, to fend off boredom, or because he wants to show you something. I might spend many otherwise lonely hours on the company jet if it wasn't for him just wanting someone to talk to. Our inner circle is small, but we care. Sometimes it can be hard to be his friend. He operates at a level that so far beyond what most people are capable of keeping up with. It can be staggering." Pepper said.

"Well, clearly you made the cut." Audrey said. She smirked at Pepper.

"Yes, and I lack some of the crucial paperwork that says I am qualified to do what I am capable of doing. It was a long play, but safer in the end. I wouldn't have gotten this opportunity with any other company. On the surface, Tony can appear to be sexist and unaware of his status economically speaking. But when it matters, he doesn't see gender or race. He sees competence and adaptability. It comes from his father, who ran Stark Industries as something of a meritocracy. If a person does their job with excellence, then it doesn't matter who they were or what qualifications they had. It's one of the few character traits Tony got from Howard that I'm glad of. But he demands a lot from people both personally and professionally. Though he's making a concentrated effort these days to look more closely at the value people have outside of their possible benefit to him. You're helping him with that, which I appreciate. I can't be there all the time for him, given my own responsibilities, but the picture I'm getting of you now makes me glad you've come into his life." Pepper said. Audrey tucked her chin in a slightly bashful expression.

"Thanks, Pepper."

"But as I said, it's not always easy to be his friend. Sometimes you will need to give him a shake to bring him back to reality. I recommend observing Steve's method for doing this. He does it without being mean or crushing Tony's emotions if he's excited about something. Especially if he's being needy and narcissistic." Audrey nodded, but left her thoughts about Tony not displaying anything other than sarcastic narcissistic traits since she'd met him to herself. Not everyone understood the idea of not being able to love yourself, and hence feeling the only option was to put the show of it on for other people.

"I'll keep that in mind." Audrey replied. "I think watching them fight off various threats will always be harder than being friends with Tony Stark though."

"It is, and it will only ever get marginally better. But you were a fantastic help to the team last night. Tony hates being trapped like that."

"I can believe it." Audrey said and looked down fondly at Mac. "I'm glad I could help. I've... never been asked to anything like that before. All in all, it felt pretty good. The Hulk is fucking scary, but not so bad if you can keep your shit together."

"So you are finding advantages to all this."

"Yes." Audrey said and nodded. "I won't deny that. Tony and the rest of the team are making an effort to make me see that. But there are realities that I am only starting to get my head around, let alone accept. Since my mutation kicked in, this is the first time I've been outside of the tower without a member of the team. That's less than ideal. You know I've never spent any time in Manhattan before this? And I can't enjoy it on my own terms because of not unfounded paranoia. I'm hoping that the general knowledge that Steve Rogers is a pal of mine will help with that though."

"Having Steve Rogers as a friend does go a long way." Pepper agreed and smiled at her.

Pepper then arranged a meeting with a lawyer named Murdock for Audrey to go over the proposed contract Tony was offering. When Audrey admitted that she hadn't had a moment look it over, Pepper pulled it up on her tablet and Audrey's phone, and walked her through it while she picked gracefully at her appetizer.

Audrey stayed quiet for the most part, because her mind was racing. She was comfortable with her ability to comprehend the aspects of the contract, but knew she didn't speak it like another language the way that Pepper seemed so comfortable with. When she caught sight of her projected annual salary before bonuses for meeting with S.I.'s marketing department, Audrey nearly sputtered on her wine. She carefully set the glass down and coughed a few times. Pepper was instantly concerned, but waited until Audrey could speak again before asking what was wrong. Audrey took a breath and relaxed before pointing to the figure on the contract.

"That is the best estimate of a going rate for a commercial artist, with Mr. Stark naturally padding the offer to ensure the best possible quality for the task. He wants you on the payroll, and he's willing to pay generously for that privilege. He wouldn't offer if he didn't believe in your ability. He would have set you up with a compensation package for your disrupted life, but he knows that you're the sort to want to know you've earned something." Pepper said and gave Audrey a reassuring smile.

"I... might need some time to process that. I need to know if I can fulfill the requirements of the job before I take it." Audrey said.

"You're better qualified than Steve. You're a professional working artist with graphic experience, no matter what your medium has been to this point. You know what looks good. You know what imagery will appeal to people and resonate with them... Take a couple of days, think about it, meet with Mr. Murdock... And perhaps speak with Steve." Pepper suggested.

"Talk to Steve... About money." Audrey said, still quite bewildered.

"Trust me." Pepper said. "And for now, more wine, because I would like to consider you a friend and we should celebrate this." Audrey laughed lightly and returned Pepper's smile with as warm an expression her feline face could muster.

 

Tony showed up as dessert was being contemplated. He strolled toward them, casually nodding to the server, and pilfered a chair from the table next to them. He sat down and scratched behind Mac's ears all while trying to look as if he disapproved of himself for doing so. "I should be terrified by this meeting of the minds. You're planning my tombstone, aren't you?"

"The retrofit of the Colosseum is caught in the permit stages. Seems the Romans have objection to live fornication being projected on to the side of it. " Pepper said dryly.

"Oh, kinky." Tony said and grinned at her.

"Or did you still want your ashes launched into space so you can hang out with Gene Rodenberry?" She asked.

"Joke's on you, Potts. The singularity is now. I'm gonna upload my consciousness and hang out with JARVIS for eternity." Tony said.

"Heaven help us all." JARVIS said from the speaker of Audrey's phone.

"You're breaking my heart, J. We could have nanite sex. It would be way less creepy if I no longer have a body." Tony said, waggling his eyebrows in the direction of the phone. Audrey's hand flew to her mouth to stifle her laughter. She didn't need to attract any more attention to their table.

"Well, perhaps it would be more satisfying than your varied attempts at phone sex over the years." JARVIS said dryly.

"At least you know I love you for your mind, buddy." Tony said. Pepper rolled her eyes.

"Besides, sir, I thought you were trying to win Ms. Whelan's hand." JARVIS said.

"Ms. Whelan is too smart to fall for my crap. You, however, know me and have forgiven me for my many, many failings. You take care of me, even when I am being an asshat. What more could a guy ask for?" Tony pressed. JARVIS made a small throat clearing noise that Audrey could only describe as Jeevesian.

The server approached their table and Tony placed a drink order with a flirtatious smile, and demanded the girls grab something for dessert. "Or, you could order a meal and not steal off our plates, Tony." Pepper said.

"Rogers is concocting a team movie and dinner night. So I'll eat whatever inspired root vegetable based thing that Hawkass and the Russian Spy Who Wouldn't Shag Me come up with. This is what I'm reduced to, Hobbes. I'll eat food made by spies now. I'm insane... But not so insane as to thumb my nose at turnip things made by Russians and transient carnies... Those people _do_ know their way around a parsnip." Tony said. Pepper watched Audrey take Tony's mini-tirade in stride, her mind keeping up to his patter easily.

"You know, Calvin, if this multi-billionaire thing doesn't work out for you, I know a guy who runs an auction back home. I know he'd think you have potential. You'd have to change your fashion sense though. How do you feel about the After Dawn look by TSC? Audrey asked.

"What or who is TSC?" Tony asked, looking over the top of his sunglasses.

"Tractor Supply Company. It's very chic." Audrey said. Pepper bit her lower lip trying not to laugh. Tony shrugged.

"Embracing plaid and boots as a lifestyle choice? Probably have to give that one a pass. There's only so many turnip using people I need in my life. I think I already have the interesting ones." He said.

"I'm telling Clint you said he was interesting."

"Yeah, but like, as a science experiment. How much explosive can I pack into an arrowhead? What edible food can he come up with using only a combination of American and Soviet army rations, and convincing a local goat to let him touch her mammaries. Or as like, an examination of a huge socio-economic paradigm shift. If social sciences counted. Which they don't. So, Hawkguy is kept around to feed my need to make things go boom in an adult-oriented, responsible, manner." Tony said.

"Even worse, I'm telling Clint that he helps you be responsible." Pepper said and grinned.

"Lies. Lies and slander, Potts." Tony said. Pepper just laughed at Tony's blustering. When Tony's beverage arrived, along with their dessert, Tony spoke up again. "By the way, I have a mission for you when we get back to the tower, Hobbes."

"Oh?" Audrey asked.

"Yeah, we need to drag Hank and Bruce out of the labs for dinner on Cap'n's orders. Brucie Bear will come along if I beg and Hank will follow you anywhere at this point. Movie night goes for you too, Pep. Steve's nesting. I should give him a pregnancy test. Though he always gets this way when there are new faces around." Tony mused.

"I swear, Rogers' humanity combined with his affection for you, is your only saving grace some days, Tony." Pepper said, and they exchanged a smile reserved for old friends.


	13. Extra Ordinary

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A short chapter to get things moving again on this. My mind had gone fallow there for a bit. Ideas, but no words, ya know? Anyway, I can't leave this one alone. This is probably one of the funniest things overall that I've ever written... Here we have family dinner, and Steve making what are probably offensive Hitler jokes. I feel that he's earned it.

"I think Hank can fix the timeline." Bruce said as Audrey and Tony walked into the Banner's personal lab. He and Hank were hunkered over a tabletop projection that swirled with various observational charts and running algorithms.

"Oh reeeeeeally?" Tony asked, as his eyebrow shot up.

"You're not going to immediately shoot this down, Stark?" Hank asked.

"I'm not Richards. I can be reasoned with. Convince me, and then the three of us can convince his stubborn ass." Tony said. Audrey was less than subtle as she checked the time on her phone.

"Keep it to words those of us who don't have advanced degrees can understand. That should keep us on time for dinner upstairs." She said. Tony turned and gave her the stink eye. "Don't even try, Calvin. You were all 'Cap'n's orders' before. Turnips, remember. There are turnips to be had. Possibly a potato thing too." She said and glared right back at him.

"You're lucky it's the spies cooking and I have a legitimate fear of an arrow up the ass if I don't comply. Okay, Hank, give me the elevator pitch." Tony said.

"She calls you Calvin?" Hank asked.

"I call her Hobbes. She vetoed Nala." Tony said. "Clock's ticking, Hank... And I am not insulting her, just ask her." Audrey rolled her eyes and looked at Tony fondly.

"I swear I am okay with it. Hobbes is the shit." Audrey agreed. "Now go science, and when I call time out, you get your butts in the elevator or I send the spy and the sharpshooter down here."

"Okay, comprehensive metaphor." Hank murmured. "Essentially instead of time being a series of parallel lines, we want to make a more spider-web effect, ending at the same point."

"Explain to me how that isn't extremely dangerous." Tony said.

"If we arrange and stitch enough similar time streams in the correct way, hopefully they would all end the same point, like the centre of a spider-web." Hank said.

"And just hope that the end point, which I assume is the inevitable heat death of the universe, which should really be defined as the Big Crunch instead, or like, Norse Wargs starting to eat celestial bodies, is a happy one?"

"If we're careful, we can probably arrange an end point that most people can live with. I am focusing our efforts on specific tears in our own timeline, and merging those back together. Other universes that have significant differences to our own will be left to their own devices." Hank said. Tony let his head tip back and forth from shoulder to shoulder a few times.

"I think the idea has merit... Which of course means that Reed is going to fucking hate it. Oh, and we leave out the Earth where I'm a woman and married to Steve... Not that I object to being a woman, because my legs look amazing in heels, or being married to Steve, because he's my boo... But I can only imagine what the SHRA fiasco would have looked like there." Tony said and shuddered.

"I think seeing you rock a pair of Jimmy Choo stilettos is something I need in my life, Calvin." Audrey said dryly.

"Not until someone puts a ring on it, Hobbes. I have standards." Tony replied.

"Pardon me, sir, but Agents Barton and Romanov have requested everyone's presence in the common dining room." JARVIS said politely.

"Thanks, J." Tony said.

"Okay, well now I'm interested. Dinner will keep. So, if you're stitching timelines together, does that mean you will need to actually travel through to different times and parallel universes?" Audrey asked.

"It's possible that hands on correction will be required." Hank mused. "Such as going back to punch myself in the kidney for thinking that bringing the past X-men here was a sane, reasonable, option... And to give myself the solution to stabilize my mutation."

"Soooo, can I come?" Audrey asked, eyes wide and curious.

"No!" Came the collective response from Hank and Bruce. Tony, on the other hand, shrugged.

"I don't see why not." He said casually.

"Stark, I've been acting crazy lately, and THAT is crazy." Hank said.

"Aw, com'on. I'll be quiet and I won't eat very much... But I make no promises about not shooting Hitler if I encounter him." Audrey countered.

"What's this about shooting Hitler?" Steve asked as the lab doors opened for him.

"Audrey wants to go if we have to dimension hop or time travel in order to fix the timeline. She's offered up her considerable marksmanship skills in order to unalive Hitler should we run into him." Tony said.

"Okay, maybe it does sound nuts, but only when you phrase it like Wade Wilson would." Audrey said. Steve cocked his head and a shit-disturber grin settled on his face.

"No, no. I get the logic of that. Everyone wants to shoot Hitler. Everyone... Even Hitler wanted to shoot Hitler there at the end." Steve reasoned. There was a full second of stunned silence before Tony and Audrey collapsed on one another in helpless laughter, which came out as tiny, high-pitched gasps while they fought for breath. Hank and Bruce's stunned reactions remained.

"What? Too soon? It's been seventy damn years. Lighten up, people." Steve said with a brusque air. That sent Tony and Audrey back into fresh gasping for breath.

"See? What did I tell you? This is why Steve is my boo." Tony managed to get out.

Steve rolled his eyes, and then grabbed each of their wrists and started pulling them toward the door and the elevator. "March, boys." He said to Hank and Bruce. "I will not tolerate grumpy, ill-fed Beasts and Hulks, especially when we've suddenly got a full house again."

"You're awful, Rogers." Hank said, but he came down off the reinforced lab stool he'd been occupying. Bruce set about closing down the lab for the evening.

"I'll concede to wise-ass, but I'm not so bad. Buck though, now Bucky was a real son of a bitch. Still is when you get him on the right day. Horrible mouth he never should have kissed his mother with." Steve said. Tony and Audrey continued to laugh like hyenas all the way to the elevator, leaning on one another for support through their guffaws.

"I swear, the only time jokes about getting shot in the face are even remotely funny are when Hitler or Dick Cheney are involved, and only because that guy survived." Bruce said.

 

Dinner was organized chaos. Audrey's closest comparisons were the large social gatherings for weddings or during harvest season. There were jokes and teasing, and dinner rolls were being thrown around. Clint was making a long-winded, but enthusiastic rant about how Cap's new battle cry should include the word "Rutabega!" in foreign countries, in order to screw with the non-English speaking populations of the world. At the centre of it all was Steve Rogers, grinning like an idiot at the chowline atmosphere of it all.

Tony settled Audrey between himself and Hank, and waved Pepper over to his other side. Audrey thought she liked how no one sat at the ends of the long, custom made table, instead they used the space for platters of food after use. There were half a dozen new faces around the table, along with Natasha, Clint, and Phil. They were introduced as Jessica, Peter, Carol, Kate, Rogue, and she noticed that Logan was back as well. She scented the air carefully, and thankfully her fear response didn't go into overdrive this time. Knowing that he was an Oilers fan had humanized him for her.

Steve was across from them, strategically sitting beside Barton, whose need for mischief knew no bounds it seemed. He was the main culprit in dinner rolls being used as artillery, despite Steve preventing most attempts. "I know that this can get a little overwhelming to the senses. Are you alright, my dear?" Hank asked quietly. Audrey tilted her head, leaned to the side, and patted Mac, who was waiting patiently near her chair.

"Yeah, I think so." She murmured back.

"Heads up, fuzzy!" Barton cried playfully, and Hank nonchalantly caught the dinner roll that had been tossed at his face.

"I spent my youth at the same table as a telekinetic and a guy who could summon snow balls at will. You'll have to do much better than that, Clint." Hank said mildly and set the roll down on his plate.

Audrey noticed Tony leaning forward on the table beside her, with the same idiot grin on his face as Steve. There was an all is right with the world feeling at the table. "I think we did it, Steve." Tony said to him fondly. "We fixed it."

"Yeah, I think we did." Steve replied.

"Aww. Guys! I think mom and dad are officially back together!" Peter cried from somewhere on Pepper's other side. Audrey swallowed a snort of laughter, but Tony didn't bother trying to hide it.

"That's right, kids. So don't make mommy get out his mighty shield to get you to eat your vegetables and mind your manners at the table." Tony said. Steve closed his eyes and shook his head.

"I'm still the mom, aren't I?" Steve asked with a tired acceptance.

"Steve, sweetheart, if I wasn't the main breadwinner around here, and like, had any awareness of how to relate to other humans, I would totally switch off in an equally nurturing role. But that being said, you've met me." Tony said. Steve brought his palm to his forehead with an audible thump. "Don't worry though boo, as long as the kids are looked after, and I can keep their college funds up, your career shouldn't get in the way of parental duties, and if so, we can get nannies to help-"

"Tony, quit it." Pepper said and swatted Tony's arm. Barton slowly edged his hand over to the basket, and was about to launch a dinner roll. But before he could take aim, Tony's arm went under the table and came up encased in the armor's gauntlet, with the repulsor humming to life.

"Barton, what did daddy just say about minding your manners?" Tony warned. Audrey's jaw dropped and she stared at Tony. Clint dropped the roll.

"The hell did that come from?!" Audrey asked.

"Proper preparation prevents poor performance. Especially during family dinner." Tony said with a shrug, but kept his eyes on Clint.

"Oh come on, Stark! If I can't have a bow at the table, there's no way that's allowed." Clint said.

"Difference is, it's technically my table." Tony said.

"Honey, you're setting a bad example in front of the children." Steve said, in a spot on June Cleaver impression. It was Tony's turn to groan and roll his eyes. "Gauntlet off, and pass the potatoes, Tony." Steve said. Tony whined, flicked his wrist, and the gauntlet started to come apart and hover away. On its way back to the armory, the glove paused over Clint's head and massaged his scalp briefly, mussing up his hair.

"Dammit, Stark! That is so creepy." Clint complained, as he swatted at the glove.

"You like it when Dummy does it." Tony said, passing the potatoes over to Steve.

"Dummy's different. That glove is like Thing from the Addams Family." Clint said.

"Then just be glad it likes you." Tony said and grinned at Clint. "And that it only went after your hair."

Steve grinned wide at Tony, who replied in kind but had to question him on it. "What are you so happy about?"

"It's just been awhile since you flirted with me like that. So help me, I think I missed it a little." Steve said.

"You are the best boo a fella could ever hope for." Tony said and his grin turned lecherous.

"Didn't miss it that much, Tony." Steve said and rolled his eyes. Tony reached across the table and grabbed Steve's hand for a moment.

"Hush boo, just let the magic happen." Tony said, his voice the consistency of melted caramel.

"Pass the gravy." Steve said.

Tony and Hank both noticed Audrey getting progressively quieter during the meal. She maintained a pleasant expression, but increasingly unfocused. "There's quite a few people at this table." Hank said between a boisterous exchange between Peter and Clint. His voice was low and steady, and Audrey's leonine ear spun to focus on his direction. "A lot of voices and a lot of scents." He continued. "Unlike Logan, I've had to consciously become used to it. Because as soon as you start unraveling someone's scent, it can become utterly overwhelming for any being with higher cognitive function. We can ponder on why someone's scent is the way it is... Combine that with a table full of plenty of food, and rowdy diners, and it can be confusing."

"Nailed it one, Hank." Audrey said softly.

"Pick a focus point. Yourself or Tony will be a good place to start. You'll have sublimated most of those scents by now."

"Yeah, okay." Audrey replied.

"The fur itself has a scent, you've probably noticed. Not unpleasant and certainly less musky than other mammals... Then there are clothes, the scent of the laundry soap. The tower's laundry service uses a very mildly scented one, which I appreciate. It's got lavender and chamomile in it. You can use that scent to identify who lives in the tower for the most part... Scents associated with relaxation are a good thing to focus on when there are large groups of people around you in an enclosed setting. Out in the world, most scents will just ebb and flow, but extended proximity to so many can be painful in how overwhelming it is. Picking a point to focus on helps. Tony's cologne is sandalwood based. There's engine grease under his nails, and metal filings in his hair that he missed during his shower. Ms. Potts is using a cucumber-based scent, I'm guessing a French soap... And Steve, Steve smells like the saddle soap he uses on his gear, and the aftershave he's probably been using consistently since the 40's I'd wager." Hank smiled softly and Audrey turned and met his gaze.

There was less confusion in her expression and her breathing had synchronized with his slow, steady, pace. "Better?" He asked.

"Yeah... A lot." Audrey replied with a nod.

"Good."

Tony had kept his attention on Clint and Peter's banter, but kept his ear on the father-daughter interaction and moment of understanding, and a sense of satisfaction settled within him. The feeling of something going right for a change was wonderful.

A well-fed and content Tony was usually a sleepy Tony, so when he and Audrey passed out on the couch shortly after the movie started, Steve was perfectly okay with leaving them in-situ when the rest of the team retired for the night. Tony didn't ever sleep enough, and Steve would let him catch up when he could. He made sure that none of the photos that were taken used flash, dropped a blanket over them, and rearranged their legs for comfort before heading to his own room for the night.

 

When Audrey blinked awake in the morning light, she was still on the couch, under a blanket and Tony yawning beside her. Mac was on the floor next to them, panting happily and waiting patiently. Steve stood over them, holding two mugs of coffee. "Good morning, cuddle bugs." He said and smiled wide. "If you two were any cuter, I would sprout ovaries, I swear. It's ridiculous."

"Ugh, I so didn't need to start the day with that imagery." Tony groaned and made grabby hands for the coffee.

"I'll let it go, only because I feel I should reward you for sleeping through the whole night like a big boy." Steve said and handed over the mugs.

"Sheets are dry too." Audrey mumbled and rubbed her eyes, mindful as ever of her claws. Steve held back a snort of laughter.

"You're the worst teddy lion ever." Tony grumbled at her, and then eyed up Steve. "And you, momma bear, we'll discuss your fertility issues later. For now, coffee, and precognitive cuddles with aforementioned teddy lion. Her snark sucks. Cuddles are top notch though. A plus plus. Will cuddle again." Tony said and slumped back against Audrey's side. She rolled her eyes at Steve, but ruffled Tony's hair with her free hand.

"So, what's on tap for today?" Audrey asked.

"I thought you and I could start the day with some light ass-kicking in the gym. Tony, are you, Hank, and Bruce going to call Reed today?" Steve asked

"Yeah yeah." Tony muttered into his coffee cup.

"Really, Tony? You're not going to do this without him?"

"Yes, mom. I promise I will join Reed and his ugly face for study group." Tony said.

"Oh come on, don't you want to rip though the space-time continuum and have the chance to maybe blow something up in the process?" Steve teased.

"Blowing stuff up is fine. It's good for the soul. I just don't like fucking with time. It gives me the heebie-jeebies. But, speaking of this unpleasant concept, I think Audrey should come with us to speak to the past version of Hank." Tony said and took a long slurp of coffee.

"Why is that?" Steve asked.

"Because I think she'll be able to get through to him. The sight of her got to him a few days ago. I'm hoping that it will be as powerful a message."

"Okay, I'm willing to go with it, but _you_ have to talk Hank and Reed into it." Steve said.

"Get me two more cups of this, and I could talk a nun out of her thong." Tony said, gazing lovingly at his mug.


End file.
